Introspection
by Your Worshipfulness
Summary: Over several weeks, Ororo Munroe finds true love in a beautiful blue package. Kurt has more than just a charming manner though; he harbors a traumatic past. Will Ororo's love overcome her fears or is there really no such thing as love at first sight?
1. Chapter 1

Introspection  
  
Over the course of several weeks, Ororo Munroe finds true love in a beautiful blue package. Kurt has more than just a gentle disposition though; he harbors a traumatic past. Will Ororo's love overcome her fears and lead her to make the biggest commitment there is, or is there really no such thing as love at first sight?  
  
Chapter One  
  
Ororo Monroe: Weather Goddess, X-men member, and all-around Superhero was begged, cajoled, threatened, and finally dragged to the Mutant-only nightclub she was presently in. While Jean, Marie, Scott, and various other of the Institute's mutant inhabitants happily mingled and danced, Storm faded into the wall and sipped an innocuous glass of champagne.  
  
Nightclubs were not her thing.  
  
This is not to say that Storm was shy, no woman as striking and intelligent as she was could be, it was simply that she felt uncomfortable in the reckless environment that such a locale produced. Everything about the place screamed rebellion, the neon lighting and chrome detail clearly urging the dancers to give up restraint and revel in the glorious feeling of absolute abandon. Storm would not, could not, lose her control. It could mean the death of everyone in this taunting little dance club.  
  
About an hour after arriving Ororo's mind was so dulled by the relentless thud of the music that she nearly missed what her tingling senses were trying to tell her. She almost blamed it on the champagne, though through judicious sips she was only just finishing her second glass. She quickly sorted out the feeling that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was being watched.  
  
Ororo scanned the room, mentally noting that all of her friends were in view and thus were not in any immediate danger from the unseen watcher. She continued to glance around, hoping to spot the person, positive now that there was only one. On her second sweep of the room she met the pair of eyes that were fixated on her own. Her breath caught in her throat and it was only through a supreme act of willpower that she was able to hide her surprise. His eyes were yellow, his skin was blue, and was that a TAIL hovering behind him? She barely managed not to blush as she saw the unconcealed admiration in his expression as his eyes traveled down her leather-clad body.   
  
Ororo composed herself and calmly met the man's gaze. After the shock of his first appearance wore off she found he was much easier on the eyes than she had first admitted. He was tall and strong-looking with handsome features. His brow was unlined but he had complex tattoos carved on his face and neck that were strangely alluring. She found herself wondering how far down they went. He was dressed in a black shirt and pants with a long black coat that reached to his knees. A small silver earring was in his tapered right ear. All in all she decided if he were half as interesting as he looked he would be a pleasant way in which to spend what she had thought would be a tedious evening. Having made up her mind she gave him the universal sign of approval, a faintly suggestive smile and a wink.  
  
She watched as the man picked up something from the bar and threaded his way gracefully through the dancers. His eyes had still not wavered from her and she found that vaguely gratifying. When he reached her she saw he was carrying an extra glass of champagne, presumably for her. "Hmm, attractive and thoughtful," Ororo thought as the blue mutant gave her a soft grin.   
  
"You have been watching me, sir," she said aloud.  
  
"Well, when one finds the most beautiful woman in the room it is difficult to tear one's eyes away." he replied without hesitation in a delightful German accent.  
  
She offered the mutant her hand as he presented her with a glass. "Ororo Monroe," she said with an artful smile, taking the champagne and placing her empty glass on the table.  
  
"Kurt Wagner," he replied, replacing his W with a V. He grasped her hand, kissing it with a flamboyant bow.  
  
Ororo favored him with a slightly sardonic smile, "The dubious honor is mine."  
  
Kurt grinned at her, flashing sparkling white fangs. "I wouldn't expect such a stunning woman to be so sarcastic," he said.  
  
"I wouldn't expect such a charming man to have a blue tail," she answered.  
  
"I only brought it to help me stand out amongst your horde of admirers," Kurt said cheekily.  
  
"You have a response for everything, don't you, Mr. Wagner," Ororo more stated than asked.  
  
"One does one's best, Miss Monroe," Kurt said.  
  
Ororo couldn't help but smile at the man. He was the embodiment of charm, and seemed to posses a kind of easy companionability that was infectious. She found herself effortlessly losing herself in the conversation, barely touching her drink. She wouldn't have noticed Rogue's approach if she hadn't almost fallen onto their booth.  
  
"Sorry," the lovely young woman said as she tumbled into the seat, "but I'm a little winded from all that dancing." "I don't know how Scott and Jean are still upright," she paused, "and I mean that in a completely non-sexual way." She reached over and grabbed Kurt's glass, still talking, "Do you mind?' she asked Kurt, motioning at the drink. She didn't wait for him to nod before continuing, "Thanks, I'm parched," she quickly downed it, sputtering when she tasted the drink.  
  
"Are you ok?" Ororo asked, concerned.  
  
"Water," she croaked, still coughing.  
  
"You need some water?" Ororo asked, beginning to stand.  
  
"No," Rogue said, finally recovering and shooting Kurt a dirty look, "that was water," she said, pointing at the offending liquid, "I need alcohol!" Ororo gave her an amused look and handed the young woman her champagne. "Thank you, Ororo," she said with almost comic relief. "So," she asked, finally giving Kurt a good once over, "who're you?"  
  
"Kurt Wagner," he told her, shaking her hand. 'I am sorry you did not enjoy my drink."  
  
"It's no problem," Rogue said, already dismissing the incident, "but if you really want my eternal forgiveness you'll go get me something that will bring me closer to inebriation," she added plaintively.  
  
Kurt nodded and stood. "If you will excuse me, Ororo, I will return momentarily." He gave her a smile and headed towards the bar.  
  
Marie quickly turned her attention to her companion and narrowed her eyes. "So, found yourself a little something to bring home?" she asked archly.  
  
Ororo gave her a reproachful look. "Kurt and I are merely talking," she said with perfect poise.   
  
"Yeah right," Rogue said with a grin. Ororo gave her another look. "Hey, all I'm saying is he's cute, he seems nice, maybe you should consider loosening up a bit." She gave her a wink, "Maybe taking him home isn't such a bad idea, he looks strong, probably has a lot of stamina."  
  
Ororo looked a bit unsettled by the younger woman's casual reference to sex. She could remember back when Marie would have blushed if it was even alluded to. She was reminded herself that Rogue was now 21 and a perfectly capable woman. She pulled herself back to the present with a minor jolt. "Even if I was thinking about...taking Kurt home....I wouldn't discuss it in the middle of this nightclub," Ororo said primly.   
  
"Suit yourself," Rogue said, sitting up straighter as Kurt approached and handed her a drink. "I'm off to find someone of my own to 'take home'." She headed off in the direction of an attractive young man with small red horns protruding from his forehead. Kurt took her seat.  
  
"What was that about?" he asked, nodding towards Rogue's retreating figure.  
  
"Hormones," Ororo said, "and a certain young woman who needs to keep them in check."  
  
Kurt laughed softly. "If you try to curb her it will only encourage her more," he said.  
  
"Psychoanalysis, Kurt?" Ororo asked.   
  
"Personal experience," he corrected, "I once knew someone just like her."  
  
They talked for another hour or so. Every so often a member of the group would stop by the table and Kurt would be introduced. None of them made any of the blatantly obvious comments that Rogue had favored Ororo with, but all of them gave her very singular glances when they left to continue enjoying themselves.   
  
It was a little after midnight when Scott hurried over to them, interrupting their conversation about famous sights to see around the world. "Storm, we have to go," he said, purposely using her codename. "Xavier called, Logan is back with some information." "I'm going to find the others, meet me at the car," he said, leaving abruptly.  
  
Ororo quickly stood up; Kurt reached for her coat and helped her into it. "I'll escort you to your car," he said quietly. Ororo smiled in thanks, taking his hand and leading him through the crowd and to the door. They walked over to the van that the group had used to convey everyone to the club. "Thanks for walking me here," Ororo said with a smile.  
  
"It was no trouble Ororo," he said. "I enjoyed our conversation." Ororo quickly made her decision and didn't allow herself to think about it. She reached up and pulled Kurt's head down to meet her lips.   
  
The kiss was long and sweet, evoking feelings and urges that the weather Goddess hadn't acknowledged in a long time. Initially she had thought Kurt's fangs might produce something of a problem, but she found he knew exactly what he was doing. She never came close to being cut. When she finally pulled away they were both breathless. Kurt's tail had managed to wrap around her waist in quite a possessive manner. Ororo held up a small white card and quickly wrote her phone number on the back.   
  
"Here," she said, handing it to him, "call me."  
  
Kurt unwound his tail and tucked the piece of paper reverently into an inside pocket. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "With that kiss, Liebling, you will be lucky if you reach home before your phone rings. With that he gently kissed her cheek and melted off into the darkness. A few minutes later the rest of the Institute's employees showed up and they all went home. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two  
  
As soon as they were parked all of the members of the X-Men headed immediately up to Xavier's office. Even before the door was opened Storm could hear the familiar restless *snikt* of Wolverine's knife-like claws extending and retracting. As soon as they entered and took their seats Logan began his report.  
  
"I found out where those mutant kids are that have been abducted," Logan said. "I caught a break, which is why I'm back so early." "Some rich sicko has offered a hefty price for a cartload of mutant children below the age of seven." Wolverine began to pace, still talking. "I don't know what he wants with them, but I do know where they will be delivered to him at." "Tonight, in a few hours, a truck is going to drop them off in a warehouse on 24th." "We need to release them there and shut down this guy's business."  
  
"We should leave now," Scott said, "it'll give us a little while to canvas the place."   
  
"The children will most likely be scared," Rogue said. "Someone may have to physically help them get out if they are too small to understand where to run."  
  
"I'll take care of them if you guys keep the others off of us," Storm said, a glint in her eyes. She couldn't stand people who hurt children.  
  
"Good, then I'll see you later tonight," Xavier said, motioning them to get moving. The conversation consisted of tactics and strategy as they all headed to the uniform lockers to get changed.  
  
They arrived at the warehouse and Rogue was elected against her wishes to remain in the jet in, both to take care of the children and as guard. The others commenced with surveillance. Several black cars were parked outside and a man in a dark suit was smoking a cigarette while leaning against the side of the door. He was trying to look nonchalant, but only succeeded in looking conspicuous. Wolverine and Iceman quickly made their way to the back of the building and entered. Jean stayed in constant contact with all the members to relay communications. About half an hour into the wait a large truck pulled up to the side and fifteen minutes later the men driving it unloaded five small boxes.   
  
Jean's head suddenly twitched. "The men are talking about money, one of them is going to open the boxes." Jean suddenly drew a sharp breath, her expression hardening into icy anger. "Allright, it's confirmed, let's take them."  
  
The team moved efficiently, closing in on the warehouse. The lone guard was quickly taken out by Jean and they entered silently. "Ok, NOW!" Jean said telepathically to the group. Immediately they sprang into action, Storm running to the center of the room where a small crate was now full of obviously mutant children. Most of them looked drugged. Storm's eyes began to glow an ominous white and a huge gust of wind blew the guards away from the cage. She quickly opened it and herded the children towards the door, carrying the youngest.  
  
"Come on now," she said soothingly, "it isn't far." Behind her Wolverine viciously gutted someone and raked his claws across another man's face. Cyclops hit someone with a blast from his visor in the corner of the room while Iceman encased two of the men's feet in ice. Ororo tried to shield the children from as much of the violence as possible as they ran for the jet outside. Five minutes later they were safely in the Institute's private plane with Rogue, while Storm was headed back into the fray. By the time she reached the building again everyone who was involved with the kidnapping was either unconscious or bleeding profusely. Jean had just finished reading the last man's mind and the X-Men were about to head back.  
  
"Find out anything?" Ororo asked.  
  
"Perhaps," Jean said, looking a little concerned. "I'll have to sort it out later, during meditation." "Right now, though, I need sleep and we still have to return the children to the police station."  
  
Wolverine led the way to the jet and Ororo slipped into the pilot's seat. "I'm going to the police station first, I'll take them in, the rest of you can rest."  
  
"You're tired too, Storm," Scott protested.  
  
"Yes, but I barely did anything in there, so I'll be fine to take care of this." Ororo didn't allow him to protest anymore, taking the plane quickly to the nearest station.  
  
An hour later Storm finally landed at the Xavier Institute. The others were awoken and Jean mentally checked in with the Professor. Ororo felt sorry for him, not even having the adrenaline of a mission to help keep him up. She quickly went to her room. "Thank goodness it is Friday," she said silently as she collapsed onto her bed. She didn't even bother to change her clothing. Strangely enough, or perhaps not, the last person she thought of was Kurt. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three  
  
Ororo slept until ten in the morning, waking briefly to eat something, and then went back to bed. When she awoke again, two hours later, she finally got up. Taking a long shower and combing out her hair, Ororo brushed her teeth. She felt moderately refreshed, but was still tired from the long night. She came down the stairs and found Jean and Scott arguing good-naturedly over a pancake and Wolverine and Rogue discussing politics.  
  
"Did you just get up, Ro?" Scott asked, pushing a chair towards her with his foot. She sank down onto it.  
  
"No, I was up earlier, I just went back to bed." She sighed, picking up an apple and rolling it around on the table. "So, what are we doing today?" she asked.  
  
"We could go see a movie?" Rogue offered. "There's some new action thriller out, lot's of blood and guts, some explosions, generally cool stuff."  
  
"Why do you like those movies, Marie?" Jean asked with a touch of exasperation. "Why can't you ever go see a nice romantic comedy."  
  
"Ew, chick flicks?" Marie asked, making a face. "Those things are always so predictable."  
  
"Yes, unlike the action films," Jean said sarcastically.  
  
"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, Red," Rogue said with a grin.  
  
Jean rolled her eyes, about to retort when the doorbell rang. The students weren't supposed to answer the door, so Jean heaved herself to her feet. "Don't trouble yourselves, I'll get it," she said when none of the others so much as moved to get up.  
  
"I appreciate it, Jean," Wolverine said with a grin.   
  
Jean ignored him and headed for the door. She returned with a sly smile on her face and a dozen white roses in her hand. Ororo looked up in surprise as Jean laid them in front of her. "What are these?" she asked.  
  
"These were just delivered for you, Ororo," Jean said with a twinkle in her eye. "Perhaps from a certain someone we all saw you kiss last night."  
  
Ororo blushed. They had seen that? She shook off the embarrassment; what did she care if they saw her? She was a grown woman and she could do what she pleased. She picked up the card.  
  
Liebling,  
  
I hope you enjoy the roses. When I saw them I thought of you.  
  
I also hope you will not think me too forward when I tell you that I have  
  
made reservations at a restaurant for us tonight. I have only a moment  
  
before I must leave for work, but I will call you later to confirm.  
  
~Your Overt Admirer,  
  
Kurt Wagner  
  
Ororo smiled as she read the card, a warm feeling stealing over her. He really liked her. Her smile widened. She really liked him too. She did not notice until she had finished reading the card that the others were all looking at her expectantly. "What?" she asked, a little perturbed.  
  
"Oh nothing," Rogue said, a little smile on her face.  
  
"Yes, nothing," Jean added, an equally small but just as smug smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.  
  
Wolverine was also giving her a speculative look. "So, who's this guy you're goin' out with?" he asked.  
  
"None of your business," Ororo said.  
  
"His name is Kurt Wagner, she met him at the club last night," Scott said, filling him in.  
  
Ororo glared at the leader of the X-Men, "Thanks a lot, Scott!" Ororo said angrily. "You had better not go snooping around with your over protectiveness in full swing," Ororo warned. "If you so much as growl at Kurt you will be dodging lightning bolts for a week!"   
  
"Look, I just want to make sure he's not trying to take advantage of you," Wolverine said in his defense. "Let's make sure his intentions are honorable."  
  
"I can take care of myself, Logan," Ororo said with a small grin. "I'm a big girl." "The one you should worry about it Marie, she's been throwing herself at every guy she's met in that club for over a week now."   
  
Rogue suddenly looked very guilty, refusing to meet Wolverine's eyes. "I wouldn't say 'throwing myself'," Rogue said quickly.  
  
"I would," Scott said with a snort. Marie glared at him, then stood up and left the table.   
  
Ororo just shook her head and ignored the drama going on around her. Suddenly she was in a really good mood. She stood up, newly energized. "I guess I'll go put these in some water," she said, standing and picking up her roses. With that she left the room.  
  
The phone rang around five thirty. Ororo hurried into the hall to find six-year-old Tiffany Browning holding an animated conversation with someone on the other end. "I don't know anybody with that name," she said carefully, her little tail twitching in confusion. "Maybe I should ask the teachers?" she asked. "Ok, I'll ask someone." She turned around to find Miss Monroe watching her with one brow raised. "Uh-oh," she said.  
  
"Tiffany, honey, you are not supposed to answer the phones," Ororo told her, taking it from her.   
  
"But it rang and no one was here," Tiffany protested.  
  
"Next time let it ring, someone else will get it," Storm said.  
  
"Ok, the man said he wanted to talk to Or-ora," Tiffany said importantly. "Who is that, Miss Monroe?"  
  
Ororo's hear skipped a beat. She scolded herself, the immaturity of such a reaction to a mere phone call was wildly inappropriate. She had just met the man after all. "That's my first name, Tiffany, now go on out and play." Ororo watched her skip off and turned her attention to the phone. "Hello?" she asked into the receiver.  
  
"Did I call at a bad time?" a German accented voice asked, his tone rich with amusement.  
  
"No, you just got the wrong little person on the phone," Ororo replied. "Sorry about that, the smaller one's aren't supposed to answer it."  
  
"So I was led to understand," Kurt replied. He had overheard Ororo and Tiffany's conversation. "So, what do you teach?" he asked.  
  
Ororo grinned, "A little bit of elementary and Calculus," she replied.  
  
"An interesting mix," Kurt commented. Then he turned the subject back to the reason he had called.  
  
"So, have you decided whether you will come with me to dinner tonight?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate.   
  
"I'd love to," Ororo said. "I hope that didn't sound desperate," she thought suddenly self-conscious.  
  
"Great, I'll pick you up at eight," he said.  
  
"Oh, Kurt?" she asked suddenly.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, bated breath, hoping she hadn't just remembered a previous engagement.  
  
"How dressy is this place?" Ororo asked.  
  
"About as dressy as last night's club, I'm afraid," he said with a self-deprecating laugh. "There are not many fancy restaurants that will serve a blue man without too many stares."  
  
"I understand," Ororo said, and she did. "I'm looking forward to it," she told him warmly.  
  
"I'll see you then," Kurt said. "Good-bye."  
  
"Good-bye," Ororo said, hanging up and releasing a long drawn out sigh. Now to figure out what to wear! She headed up to her room, calling for Jean and Marie as she did so. This was going to need some serious thought and who better to help her choose than her best girlfriends? 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four  
  
Clothes were spread across the bed at many different angles as Ororo tried and then rejected each outfit.  
  
"What about this one?" Jean asked, holding up a white dress.  
  
"Too virginal," Rogue said. "He'll be afraid to touch her without sullying her virtue." "Now THIS," she added, "is an outfit." She held up a short black skirt and a black low-cut halter top.   
  
"Rogue, she doesn't want to look like a hooker either," Jean objected.   
  
"In that case, can I borrow it for the club tonight?" Marie asked plaintively.  
  
"You guys are going back to the club?" Ororo asked, gazing thoughtfully at a tight knee length khaki skirt and a red blouse. "Maybe after dinner Kurt and I will stop by and check up on you."  
  
"Sounds good," Jean said. "Unless you guys want to go some place a little more...private."  
  
"Jean, not you too, why does everyone assume that this relationship is all about sex?" she asked.  
  
"Well it's not ALL about sex," Marie admitted. "But it is like a really, REALLY, big part of it."  
  
"Well, the only thing you guys need to worry about is my outfit right now," Ororo told them. "What do you think?" She held up her compromise between her two friend's opposite opinions of what she should wear.   
  
"Hmm, khaki skirt, knee length but still tight, red blouse, short sleeved, low cut but with enough ruffles to hide most of you, strappy shoes, and silver jewelry," Rogue said, going through the list. "I approve on a general note."  
  
"Me too," Jean said, admiring the necklace she had chosen.   
  
"Good Ororo said then it's settled." She smiled. They moved on to hair and make-up.  
  
By the time eight o'clock rolled around Storm was ready. She was spritzing on her favorite perfume when she heard the doorbell ring. "Ok," she told herself, "don't answer it, that will look desperate, just act natural."  
  
"STORM!!!!" an annoyingly loud voice yelled up the stairs, "your DATE is HERE!!!!!!" Rogue grinned, knowing Ororo was going to kill her later. She shrugged. "Oh well, I've had a good life," she thought philosophically.  
  
Ororo quickly smoothed her hair and walked down the steps, vowing to really hurt Rogue when she got home. She reached the end and turned into the hallway to see Kurt, looking surprisingly at ease, talking to Wolverine.  
  
"I'm taking her to a restaurant," he was saying as he caught sight of her. He smiled, "Good evening, Ororo, you look incredible." "Your large friend here was just giving me the third degree."  
  
"Logan, I thought we already had this talk," Storm said dangerously.  
  
"You said I couldn't threaten him, we were having a nice conversation," Wolverine said, a bit too innocently.  
  
"Ja, it was very kind of you to show me your metal claws, Logan, they are very nice," he paused when he saw Storm's eyes narrow and begin to turn white. "But we really must be going," he said quickly.  
  
"This isn't over, Wolverine, when I find you and Rogue you will BOTH be lucky if I don't assign each of you a permanent rain cloud to follow you around for the rest of the year," she threatened in a nonchalant tone of voice. She reached for her coat.  
  
"Can you do that?" Logan asked, surprised.  
  
"Yes," she said. Then she turned to Kurt, who had finished helping her into her leather jacket.  
  
"Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm.  
  
She took it, giving him a radiant smile. "I think we shall." Kurt opened the door and motioned to his car, a black mustang. He opened the door for her and then walked to his side. Climbing in, he started it and they headed off the Institute grounds.  
  
"Just like riding a bike," Kurt murmured.  
  
Ororo raised an eyebrow, "What it?"  
  
"Driving a car," Kurt replied. "I usually ride my motorcycle, but I rented this one because I did not feel it would be good to pick you up on a bike."  
  
"Wise decision," Ororo said, with a smile to make it sound less superior. "You know, I could have picked you up," she said.  
  
"That would be very ungentlemanly of me," Kurt told her, pretending to be soundly shocked.  
  
"Hey, this is the twenty-first century, it's very liberated for us girls to pick up our dates," she said, grinning at his mock-horrified look.  
  
"So," Kurt asked, changing the subject, "is that your power, water?"  
  
Ororo abruptly realized they had never discussed what each other could do, she didn't even know what kind of powers he had. "Not exactly," she said, "I control all types of weather." "Lightning, rain, winds, I can do it all." "What about you, what's your mutation, besides the obvious."  
  
"I," Kurt said proudly, "am a teleporter."   
  
"Really?" Ororo asked, she had never met anyone with that mutation before. "How does that work?"  
  
"Mostly, I just think about where I want to go and "bamph" I'm there," he told her.  
  
"Bamph?" she asked.  
  
"It's sort of the sound it makes," Kurt said. "I, myself, have never heard it, but people tell me that's what it sounds like."  
  
"Teleporting sounds like fun," Ororo said, "but I don't think I'd trade it for flying."  
  
"Yes, flying is infinitely better," Kurt agreed.  
  
"Have you flown before?" she asked as they turned down another rode.  
  
"I was in the Munich circus awhile back, a trapeze artist; it's the closest thing to flying that you can get." He smiled at the memories. "It was also a lot of fun."  
  
"You were the star attraction?" Ororo asked, smiling at the thought of him performing for the crowds.  
  
"Well, I was good, but not quite that good," he grinned again. "You know, they used to call me the Incredible Nightcrawler." He sighed, "I guess they didn't know me very well."  
  
Ororo frowned at that. "I don't know, Kurt," she said, "I think you're pretty incredible."  
  
Kurt turned to her, his smile returning, "Ja, but you have to say that, being an angel and all." Ororo blushed at the compliment, and was grateful when Kurt spoke again. "And here we are." He pulled up in front of a brightly lit restaurant with the words "Myron's" written in neon letters. Kurt opened the polished wooden door and they entered the carefully immaculate dining area. They approached the desk and rang the small bell on the table for assistance, almost immediately a waiter popped up. Literally.  
  
"Kurt!" he said with a huge smile, displaying teeth as green as his skin. "Good to see you again, buddy."   
  
"Robert, I see you managed to get your uniform modified," Kurt replied, nodding to the holes in the man's elbows where two protruding green spikes peeked out.  
  
"Yeah, I squared it with Myron," he said, then changed the topic abruptly. "And who is your very lovely lady friend?" he asked slyly.  
  
"This is Ororo Monroe," he said, smiling at her.  
  
Ororo leaned forward, offering her hand, "A pleasure," she said.  
  
"Well, let me get you two a table," Robert said, after releasing her hand. "Right this way," he motioned for them to follow him.  
  
They were led past several couples, and one room in which a birthday party was taking place, to a secluded candlelit table behind several strategically placed plants. Kurt held out her chair and removed her coat, acting in every way the perfect gentlemen. Ororo couldn't help but enjoy all the attention, she knew there was no way she could train the male X-Men members to be more like her charming date. They were handed the menus and Ororo glanced at Kurt.  
  
"So, what's good?" she asked, skimming the menu.  
  
"Well, they make an excellent chicken primavera and all of the pasta here is always perfect," he replied.  
  
"That sounds good, I definitely feel like Italian," she said. She quickly gave her drink order and chose the chicken fettuccine alfredo, Kurt picked the aforementioned chicken primavera. They talked until their food arrived, ate and talked some more. After they were both thoroughly stuffed they had gotten around to jobs.  
  
"So where do you work?" Ororo asked, taking a sip of her drink.  
  
"I'm an editor for a small newspaper, behind the scenes where most people won't see me." "Actually most of the employees don't mind working for or with a mutant, it seems most people know someone who is one of us."  
  
"You're lucky, I've known several people who have encountered more stiff resistance to their mutations," Ororo said. "I, for one, am glad I found the Xavier Institute," she added. The conversation turned to a more pleasant topic, but eventually they decided it was probably time to leave. Kurt paid for the meal, refusing to let her half it, and giving her an amusingly shocked look when she suggested it. They grabbed their coats and headed for the car, saying goodnight to Robert.   
  
"It's much too early to go home yet," Storm told him decisively. "Do you want to go back to the nightclub?" she asked, "The others are going to be there."  
  
"I would be happy to, as long as you promise to dance with me," he said.   
  
Ororo nodded cautiously, "A slow dance," she said, holding up an admonishing finger.  
  
"Of course, Fraulein," he said with a smile, "those are the best ones." 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five  
  
They headed back to the previous night's club, parking next to the familiar, nondescript gray Institute van. Ororo took Kurt's hand and they went inside. When they entered, the same annoyingly thumping music was already playing. As they made their way to a circular booth, Ororo glanced around for some sign of her friends. She caught Jean's eye and discreetly motioned to where they would be sitting. Kurt slid into the booth, following Ororo's example. She noticed he was careful about where he placed his tail, and she briefly wondered just how sensitive it was.   
  
"Hmmm, that would put an interesting spin on ....things," she thought, curbing the giggle that threatened to spill out.   
  
  
  
"So, mein Liebling, what shall we do until my dance?" he asked, his delightful accent making his moderately innocent words sound suggestively sinful.   
  
"What do you want to do?" Ororo asked, leaning towards him, a teasing smile on her face.  
  
He grinned, "I plead the fifth amendment."  
  
"Handsome and clever?" Ororo asked, her smile widening as she continued to tease.  
  
"And don't forget, completely irresistible," Kurt added, also leaning towards her.   
  
Their lips only inches apart, Ororo was about to kiss him when the music suddenly switched to a slow ballad-like song. Kurt pulled back a centimeter, his eyes slightly dilated. "I believe you promised me a dance?" he asked, his voice slightly uneven.  
  
"I believe you're right," Ororo said with a small sigh. She was disappointed that the kiss had been interrupted, but a slow dance would more than make up for it. She allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor and she put her arms around his neck. For a moment he looked almost startled, but he relaxed again almost instantaneously. If Ororo hadn't been looking exactly at him she would have missed it, she gave him a questioning look.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said when he saw it, "Reflex, I am not used to women wanting to touch me," he said, a bit shamefaced at his previous reaction.  
  
Ororo pulled herself closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You know," she said, her voice barely a whisper, "I like to touch you."   
  
Kurt looked down at her, a strangely peaceful expression on his face. He leaned in and carefully kissed her. It was more gentle than the last time, pleasurable but not seeking anything other than comfort and quiet enjoyment. There was no sense of urgency and it continued even as they swayed to the light music. Occasionally they each took a sporadic breath, but mostly they just moved together and explored each other's mouths. Eventually the song ended and they broke apart, smiling almost shyly at each other. Kurt put an arm around her waist and led her back to the booth where Jean and Scott were now sitting.  
  
"Hey, there you guys are," Jean said, looking up from the conversation as the newer couple took their seats.  
  
"We were dancing," Ororo said, giving her companion a fond look. "Amongst other things," she added silently.  
  
"Yeah, you guys look a little flushed," Scott said. Sweet guy though Scott was, Ororo couldn't help but be a little surprised when she detected no insinuation in his tone. "How was your dinner?"  
  
"Fabulous," Ororo told them, "Kurt took me to Myron's."  
  
"I love that place, you should try their lasagna!" Jean chimed in.  
  
"I'll have to sometime," She replied.  
  
"How about tomorrow, for lunch?" Kurt asked, a bit nervously though he hid it well with a charming smile.  
  
Ororo's heart leapt at the opportunity to spend more time with him, "I'd love to," she told him honestly.  
  
"Good, then I will pick you up around twelve," he said, hoping he didn't look as relieved as he felt.  
  
"You've got yourself a date," she told him, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.   
  
When they broke away she pulled his arm around her and listened to Kurt talk with Jean and Scott. It was difficult to pay attention, as Kurt's tail was drawing what she was certain were unconscious patterns on her leg with his tail. She smiled, knowing he would be immensely embarrassed if she pointed it out to him. With a mysterious grin she leaned closer into Kurt and tried to stay abreast of the conversation.  
  
"So, you two work with Ororo?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, Scott's a teacher and I'm the resident physician," Jean replied.  
  
"What about you," Scott asked.  
  
"I work at a small Newspaper, The Provincial Herald, I'm the editor," he replied.  
  
"Really?" Jean asked, that sounds exciting. "I'm assuming the paper is pro-mutant?" Jean asked curiously.  
  
"Well, they aren't anti-mutant, but mostly we try to stay neutral," Kurt replied. "We certainly write blistering articles about mutant abuse, but we also verbally chastise the mutants who attack the normals."  
  
"That sounds logical, though I doubt everyone is happy about your moral standing and all," Scott added.  
  
"Yes, there are a few dissenters and activists who picket us occasionally." "I like to think it doesn't go anywhere because we put out such a great paper, but more likely it is because we just aren't important enough."  
  
"Did you start out as Editor or did you work your way up?" Jean asked.  
  
"I was first hired as a language consultant, but I wrote a short story that was published by them and then I slowly climbed the ranks." Kurt smiled, "It is not as interesting as the circus was, but there is the better pay to consider."  
  
  
  
"You were in the circus?" Scott asked, surprised.  
  
"I was an acrobat for many years," Kurt said. "It was one of the few places where having a tail actually recommends you to an employer." "I-," he began, but cut himself off as Rogue came storming past the table and out the side door. Her face was deadly calm, but her eyes were seething with rage. Logan followed closely behind her, his eyes narrowed and his face set in a disapproving frown. Jean, Scott, Ororo, and Kurt looked after them, reluctantly deciding it was none of their affair. Ororo had long had her suspicions about those two; it looked as though tonight would settle something, though Storm wasn't exactly sure if it was for better or for worse. She sighed and wished them luck, turning back to her companions.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Marie left the club through the side door, entering the alley. She could hear Wolverine following her. "Leave me alone, Logan," Rogue said in a quiet but dangerous voice. She might as well have screamed it, for her voice carried exceptionally well in the silent alleyway and Logan's ears were very sharp.  
  
"What, so now you aren't even going to talk to me about this?" Logan asked, apparently also angry.  
  
"There is nothing to talk about, this is my business and you *will* stay out of it," Rogue said, her voice getting a bit louder and even more lethal.  
  
"So your business is sucking the face off every guy five seconds after you meet him?" Logan asked scathingly.  
  
"I will kiss anyone I see fit to, Logan, you will not tell me what to do!" "You don't have the right!" Rogue's eyes were blazing now and she was almost shaking with rage. "You think everyone doesn't know about your late night capers with those whores down in South-central?"  
  
"First of all, I am not a student, and secondly, that wasn't a kiss, that was you giving him a free tonsillectomy!" Logan shouted. "It's disgusting, I really don't understand why you are acting out like this."  
  
"Acting OUT!!!" Rogue yelled, her voice incredulous. "You talk about me as if I was a child who wants attention." "I am in college now, I'm freaking 21 for goodness sake!" "I am sick and tired of your attitude, Logan." "Maybe you missed me growing up, but everyone else hasn't!"   
  
"Perhaps I treat you like a child because you are acting like one?" Logan said in a scornful tone.  
  
Rogue got control of her voice after being rendered momentarily speechless by unshed tears of fury. "How dare you accuse me of childishness, Wolverine?" she said almost contemptuously. "What do you do every time life is too much for you to deal with?" She willed her words to injure him. "You run away!" "Very mature of you, oh I'm just aching to follow in your grown-up, adult footsteps," Rogue mocked.  
  
"Marie-," Logan began in a calmer voice.  
  
"Don't call me that," Rogue screamed, startling him slightly. "Stop trying to pretend that I'm the same person I was then!" "I'm not your biddable little groupie anymore, Logan," Rogue modulated her voice. "I've finally realized that you don't know best," she paused, "in fact, you don't know anything." "You don't even know what's happening under your nose!" With that she turned away from him and headed back inside.   
  
"Mar-" Logan stopped himself, "Rogue where are you going?"  
  
"To hand out some free tonsillectomies," Rogue said over her shoulder in a derisive, hurtful tone. She wanted, no she *needed*, him to feel as bad as she did. "Tell the others I'll find my own way home." And then she was gone.  
  
Logan sighed, leaning against the side of the alleyway to do some thinking. He could always find someone to beat up, to discharge all this rage that was still in him. Some people could use themselves up screaming at others, but Wolverine had always had to do something physical to release his anger. He dismissed the idea. Something told him that pounding someone into a bloody pulp just wasn't going to work this time. He took a deep breath, taking in the scents around him. "Yep, totally alone," he thought sadly.   
  
The truly depressing thing about the entire argument was that she had told the truth. Until the moment when she had turned around in the alley he had only ever really seen her in one way, the same teenage girl that he had found stowing away in his truck. She really had grown up, so how had he missed it? He drew further into himself, examining his actions over the years he had been with the X-Men. He had known she was getting older, he had noticed as she matured in thought and action and he had watched her become a valued member of the team. She had experience, intelligence, and a cool head. She was someone to be relied upon. Someone to be trusted, someone to be cared for.   
  
"Wait as second?" he thought. "I care for her?" "Well, of course I care for her, she is a member of my team." He frowned, somehow this seemed different than mere team loyalty. In a way he kind of looked on Marie-"Rogue, call her Rogue," he told himself.-as a daughter. No, not as a daughter. That wasn't right, that was making Rogue less than what she was. It was demeaning to her, and to him, not to recognize her as she truly was. Before he could mend the gap between them he had to figure this out. He needed to know where he stood in relation to her before he could begin to understand what they were feeling.   
  
"Is she a sister?" he asked himself. Another that did not fit. She was certainly not a mother. What did that leave? Friend, companion, confidant, lover? "Lover!?!" "Where did that come from?" He didn't think of Mar-Rogue like that. Did he?   
  
Logan thought back carefully to just before Rogue had run out on him. He had been looking for her, wanting to talk to, listen to her, be near her. "There's nothing wrong with that," he told himself firmly. He had caught her scent, it was always light and airy yet it somehow gave him a heady feeling. He had followed it to a seemingly empty booth where he had found her kissing some guy with horns in a desperate way that made him feel..... Angry? Disgusted? "Jealous?" a little voice whispered. Wolverine sighed again, knowing the voice was right. He had hit the ugly, treacherous, unworthy emotion right on the head. When he had seen that boy with his Marie-HIS MARIE- he had just wanted to sink his claws in that gym-muscled punk's tender little throat. So he had feelings for Rogue...strong feelings for Rogue, and he had just gotten her more angry with him than she had ever been at anyone in her entire life. Man, he was an idiot.  
  
"So I'm in love with Rogue," he was surprised when his mind did not skip around the word love. "I'm in love with a woman who basically told me to go screw myself, currently has a very good reason for hating my guts, and can suck my life out with the touch of her hand if she so chooses."  
  
Freud would have a field day with this one.  
  
Having reached an illogical, but nonetheless truthful, conclusion Logan left the alleyway. He figured he'd decide what to do about Rogue when the time came. Maybe she wouldn't love him, but maybe being his friend would no longer be as distasteful to her. Of course he'd have to apologize in the morning, after he made sure there were no witnesses around, and she'd probably make him beg. "Though all of a sudden that doesn't sound to unappealing..." He broke off the disgustingly cloying thought of enjoying the making up process. "Man, she has me so whipped," he thought, suddenly a bit depressed. He needed a drink. Badly. Wolverine went out for his quest for solace; it was going to be a long night.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So I guess I had better take you home," Kurt said shyly.  
  
"Yeah," Storm said, sorry that their evening was over. "I think it's past my bedtime."  
  
Kurt smiled at her small joke. He helped her into her coat and they said good bye to Jean and Scott. Reaching the club's exit, Kurt opened the door for her and they walked to his car. Again he opened the car door and closed it after her, courteous to the end, and walked to the other side. On the way back to the School they talked of their plans for tomorrow. Kurt offered to pick up the food and meet her at a nearby park. He knew a beautiful spot and a picnic would be a perfect second date. Ororo had agreed and insisted on bringing the drinks, plates, utensils, and dessert. Kurt reluctantly allowed it after she pointed out it wasn't against the Code of Chivalry. Neither wanted to leave the other's company for a moment, but unfortunately they eventually arrived at their destination.  
  
"I will see you tomorrow, Ororo," he said, his accent giving her name new contours. He reached for his seat buckle in order to get out and open her door for her.  
  
"Kurt," Ororo said, gently touching his wrist, "you don't have to open my door all the time." "You're going to get me spoiled."  
  
"I want to spoil you," Kurt said. He flashed her his usual charming smile, but the sincerity sparkled in his eyes. Ororo wondered how she could feel so much for this man she had barely met. She leaned over, bent her head carefully, and pressed her lips against his.  
  
The kiss could technically be considered a good-bye kiss, it was at the end of the date, but the message Ororo was sending as she pressed herself more firmly against him was anything but a farewell. She could feel his hand fumbling for the seat belt buckle and she vaguely remembered unbuckling her own. She heard the catch give and she slid onto his lap with the ease of quiet desperation. She literally plunged herself into his mouth, pushing to get as close to him as possible. He hands caressed her back leisurely, never asking for more than she offered. She loved him for that. After awhile the kiss slowed, the desperation eased and she pulled back. Her lips were slightly swollen and she was a little dazed from the intensity of their connection. Kurt was a apparently having a similar reaction; his eyes were half shut, savoring the taste of her. It took a few seconds, but they finally recovered sufficiently to speak.  
  
"That was-," Kurt stopped, at a loss for words to describe the emotions flowing through him.  
  
"Incredible," Storm finished for him, giving him an appreciative look. "I hope I didn't hurt you," she told him, noticing his tail around her wrist. It seemed to curl around the first available thing whenever Kurt experienced any kind of strong sensation.   
  
"Nein, you didn't," he assured her, shifting her to a more comfortable position. Her legs were stretched out across the length of the front seats and her back was against the driver's side door.   
  
She looked a bit embarrassed when she saw the position she had apparently maneuvered herself into while under the influence of that kiss. "I guess I had better go in then," she said.  
  
"I suppose you must leave me tonight," Kurt said, trying to look pitiful.   
  
Ororo's laugh induced an almost weightless feeling on the blue mutant. "I hope you can survive without me," she told him.  
  
"I will be terribly brave and bear it as best I can," he promised her. She carefully opened the door and removed herself from his lap. He stood and stretched to work out the kinks from sitting so long and then gallantly offered her his arm. When they reached the door Kurt leaned over and gave her a kiss as equally chaste as the one she had offered him in the club. He was just turning to go when Kitty Pryde fell straight through the front door and onto the steps.  
  
"Oh, very funny, Jubilee," she called through the door and ignoring her teacher's presence. "If you've set anything of mine on fire I will take a blowtorch to your CD collection!"   
  
The door suddenly opened to reveal Jubilee, her hands still spouting fireworks, "Oh come on, Kitty, can't you take a-" she cut herself off as she saw Ororo, "-joke?" she finished, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. "Uh, hi, Miss Munroe," Jubilee said.  
  
"Jubilation Lee, I believe there are strict rules about using your powers on other students inside the building," Storm said, sounding threatening.   
  
"Er, yes, Ma'am, we were just, um, performing a small experiment," Jubilee replied.  
  
Kitty nodded, moving towards her friend, "An experiment which we are completely through with and will now go clean up," she added quickly. The two girls scampered off, apparently all was forgiven.  
  
Ororo turned to Kurt, "Sorry about that," she said.  
  
"Nein, it was good to see you in action," Kurt said. "Remind me not to tell you the horrible tricks I used to play on our tutor in the circus," Kurt said. He gave her a smile and said good-bye. Then he teleported to his car leaving behind a faint odor of brimstone. Ororo grinned as it dissipated and went to bed. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six  
  
"Ororo, wake up!" a voice called from behind her door.   
  
Grudgingly Ororo pulled herself to full consciousness. She was going to kill whoever was on the other side of that door; she had been having a *very* interesting dream. "What do you want, Jean?" she asked crossly.  
  
"Ororo, it's ten o'clock!" Jean said impatiently.   
  
"Thank you, Charlie Robinson," Ororo said sarcastically, "Can I go back to bed now?"  
  
"Ororo, your *date*!!!" Jean said, exasperated at her friend's morning attitude.  
  
Ororo racked her brain, "A date, what date?" She pushed the thoughts back. "I just want to go back to my dream about Kurt!" She stopped, quickly sitting up. "Wait, Kurt?" "My date with Kurt!" "Oh my gosh, I should have been up hours ago!" Ororo said through the door. "Why didn't you guys wake me sooner?" She jumped out of bed, opened the door for Jean, and frantically began rummaging around, trying to find something to wear.  
  
"Don't worry, `Ro," Jean told the frenzied weather goddess, "you have two hours." "I already have some idea about what you should wear today," Jean said comfortably.  
  
Ororo finally stopped rushing around the room and turned to her friend. "Yes, but I didn't tell you that Kurt and I decided that we would meet in the park and have a picnic." "This changes everything, I need to make the Four Layer Dessert still!"  
  
"It changes it for the better!" Jean said happily. Her eyes became unfocused for a second. "Ok, I've just asked Kitty to get out the ingredients for your cake thing." "Now, since it's casual you can use this opportunity to show yourself off in ways that just aren't possible when you're dressing up!" "Where are those shorts I bought you for your birthday last year?"  
  
"Those are too short to go out in public in!" Storm protested.  
  
"Don't be such a prick, `Ro," Jean told her. "You wear the shortest shorts you own and a tight, low-cut white shirt that is thin enough to almost see through, then you see how he reacts." "I used to do it Scott all the time; at first it was a test to see if he could control himself, but eventually it was just fun to see how he blushed whenever I put it on."  
  
"That is cruel; I can't believe you did that to him!" Ororo said, a bit scandalized at how devious her friend was. She had never thought of Jean as the kind of person who would flaunt her body to get a reaction; she just seemed too wholesome for that. Ororo wondered if Kurt would blush when she wore that outfit. "Wait, am I actually considering this?" she asked herself. She was surprised to find that she had, in fact, already agreed.  
  
Jean waited while her friend took a quick shower and then searched for her clothing. Ororo quickly found the shorts and shirt that she wanted. The top stretched tight across her front and showed a bit of her midsection, it was also barely opaque. She grinned and went to find some shoes while her and Jean's conversation moved on. "So where is Rogue today?" Ororo asked.  
  
"I don't know," Jean replied, rejecting a pair of clogs that Ororo showed her. "She came home late last night and her emotions woke me up from all the way in Scott's room." "Before I could put my shields up I heard some really inventive cursing, most of it aimed at Logan."  
  
"I know they got into an argument," Ororo said, sitting down to put a small amount of skin toned make-up on. "When they went outside I knew they were going to yell at each other, but I don't know what set them off."  
  
"I guess she was still upset over it," Jean said thoughtfully. "He does seem exceptionally good at getting under her skin," she paused, "and vise versa." "You know, Logan didn't come home last night at all." "He didn't get back in until around six today, probably stayed in a motel."  
  
"You don't think they could, I don't know, have a thing for each other?" Ororo asked, slipping on a pair of tall sandals.  
  
Jean's eyes narrowed, "You know, I think that is a distinct possibility," she said. "Why didn't I see it before?" "Maybe we should help them along?"  
  
Ororo looked worried, "No, don't you dare, Jean!" "Let them do it alone!"  
  
"Ororo this is too good an opportunity to pass up," Jean told her excitedly. She switched tactics. "Rogue is always messing with our love lives, now is our chance to not only get her back but see her happy with a steady guy!"  
  
"Well, it would be nice to see her in a normal relationship," Ororo said, wavering.  
  
"Of course it would," Jean said, moving on as if Ororo had agreed instantly. "Now give me today to think on it and I'll have a plan by tonight," Jean told her. "And now we should go make that pie thing you want to bring with you," she said. With a smile they headed to the kitchen.  
  
  
  
It didn't take long to finish the dessert, luckily only the crust had to be baked and it took only ten minutes. While she worked, Ororo gave Jean all of the details of her date. When she admitted to almost mauling the blue German in his car Jean's eyes had almost popped out. "I cannot believe *you* did that," she said.  
  
"Why not?" Ororo asked, a little confused.  
  
"It's just that usually you have complete control over every single event in your life," Jean said. "I didn't think you'd ever let it go like you apparently did back in that car."  
  
"I am not *that* uptight," Ororo protested.  
  
"You are a total control freak, `Ro, but don't worry, we love you anyway." Jean grinned when her friend stuck her tongue out at her. Suddenly Marie walked into the room, stalked to a cabinet, and roughly pulled out a pop tart.  
  
"Hi," she said, sitting down at the counter next to Jean and across from where Ororo was cooking.   
  
"Morning, Rogue," Storm said quietly. "How was yesterday."  
  
"I do not want to talk about it," Rogue said a bit stiffly.  
  
"I heard you and Logan might have had a falling out," Jean said softly, honestly concerned for her friend. Revenge forgotten, she gave Ororo a worried look, obviously not liking what she was sensing from the young woman. "You know he didn't come home last night," Jean said, hoping to encourage a response.  
  
Rogue flinched trying not to imagine in who's arms Wolverine had sought comfort. "The bestial wanderings of our resident canis-sapien are of no interest to me, Jean," Rogue said frostily.   
  
Jean raised an eyebrow, "Rogue, I don't know what happened between you, but I'm sure anything that Logan said he didn't mean."   
  
"Look, I really don't want to talk about it, Jean, just drop it," Rogue almost growled. She was sounding more like Logan everyday.  
  
"All right, fine," Ororo said. "We won't talk about it."   
  
There was a pause. "So, how was your date with Kurt?" Rogue asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.   
  
After adding two bottles of soda, Ororo packed the plates and utensils into a small basket and put a small cloth over them. Lifting up her dessert she carefully set it inside and then placed the entire basket in the refrigerator. "My date was fabulous, and he is picking me up again in about an hour," she told her, turning with a satisfied look on her face.  
  
"Yeah, I suspected when I saw you in 'the outfit'," she told her, giving Jean a secret smile.  
  
"You know about it too?" Ororo said with a questioning expression.  
  
"Who do you think gave her the idea?" Rogue asked, sounding smug. Suddenly she stopped smiling, her face turning into a mask of ice as Logan stepped into the kitchen.  
  
Ororo watched the man carefully as he studiously avoided Marie's gaze in a way that looked almost natural. Almost. He was obviously trying to ignore the suddenly frigid temperature in the room and the two teacher's frank curiosity. He picked up an apple and turned to the counter, seeming to almost hesitate when he saw Rogue's expression. Glancing at Jean and Ororo, Logan's face turned slightly mournful and he left the room without speaking of any of the things he had seemed so ready to talk about.  
  
Ororo cleared her throat, "Um, Marie-,"  
  
"You know what, I just remembered I have an essay due for one of my Professors," she stood up. "I'd better get working on it." She departed the room quickly, leaving her unfinished breakfast on the counter.  
  
"I hope he apologizes soon," Ororo said, getting out the waffles, " or it's going to be chilly every time they get in a room together."  
  
"They definitely have a thing for each other," Jean told her. "I'm positive of it, there is no way they could have offended each other so much in such a short time if they didn't." Ororo continued to make breakfast while Jean talked.  
  
"If only we could get them together some place where they'd be forced to talk out their problems."  
  
"If I know Marie, that will be hard." Ororo told her friend. "She'll avoid him like the plague; he's going to have a hard time tracking her down even if he *is* trying to apologize."   
  
"And you know how bad Logan is at acts of contrition," Jean stated. "He'll probably screw it up and then they'll never get together." She sighed, taking the plate Ororo gave her and beginning to eat. "It'll bear some thinking."  
  
"If you come up with anything, I'll help," Ororo told her, "but if you get caught I never heard anything about it, understand?"   
  
"No problem, `Ro," Jean said with some smugness. "Leave everything to me." "Now, go brush your teeth, you don't want syrup breath when you go to meet Kurt."  
  
"Speaking of which, I'd better leave in about twenty minutes if I want to get there in time," she said, picking up her plate and putting it in the sink. Then she headed to the bathroom. What would she do with herself for a whole twenty minutes?  
  
Ororo wound up leaving ten minutes later. She figured she could always be early and hanging around the school was riding on her last nerve. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so worked up over a man. She carried the basket out the front door and her eyes clouded over. With a smile she took off into the air, mindful of keeping her package level. Exactly four minutes later she arrived in the park, landing in a secluded section behind a gazebo. She immediately set off for the entrance where she was to meet Kurt. A few minutes after she arrived she heard the characteristic "bamf" of Kurt's teleporting and saw him walk around the corner of the fence. He carried a basket and had a blanket over his arm.   
  
"Kurt!" she said, quickly walking over to him.   
  
Kurt turned his head, smiling broadly. As soon as he caught a glimpse of her his eyes almost immediately traveled the length of her body and back. His eyes widened and he almost blushed, "Ororo, you are a feast for the eyes." Did his face seem a bit more purple than it had a second ago?  
  
Ororo carefully concealed a grin and mentally reminded herself to thank her friends for their advice. It seems Kurt was every bit as susceptible to 'the outfit' as any other man would be. She linked her arm with his and motioned to the basket she had over one arm. "I brought everything, and I made the dessert personally so I expect you to heap praise upon it," Ororo said, mock-imperiously.  
  
"I will do my best," Kurt said with a laugh.  
  
"So where is this spot?" Ororo asked.   
  
"Ah, you cannot wait to be alone with me," Kurt said with a overacted friendly leer.   
  
Ororo grinned, "Well, I was really wanting to be alone with the lasagna," she said, grinning. "But I suppose you will make an adequate substitute." Then she laughed and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  
  
They made their way to the right corner of the park, talking and joking as the walked. Kurt moved confidently the entire time. Finally when it looked like they had reached a dead end Kurt stopped and pulled aside a bush to reveal a beautiful creek overhung with branches. Kurt spread the blanket down beside one of the trees and motioned Ororo to have a seat. Then he broke open his basket and pulled out pan, divvying up the portions with surprising speed. Ororo gave him the plates and handed him a drink. He handed Ororo's plate back to her with a flourish and took his own. He then sat down, leaning against the tree and they ate.  
  
"Mmm, Jean was right, this stuff is fabulous," Ororo said, licking her finger and putting her empty plate down.  
  
"Myron will be glad to hear you enjoyed it," Kurt told her, picking up her plate and places it on top of his own. He put them both inside the pan and then on top of his basket. They talked awhile longer before Ororo decided that she was ready for dessert. She picked up another plate and carved out slices of her famous Four Layer Dessert.  
  
"Now, try this," Ororo said, deftly scooping it onto the plate. She advanced on the blue German who gave her an exaggerated look of concern.   
  
"I do not know, Ororo," he said, his accent distorting the words slightly, "it looks very rich." "What if it disagrees with me."  
  
Ororo knelt down, balancing the plate and fork. "Oh no you don't, Kurt," she said determinedly. "You are not getting out of trying my cooking."  
  
"How do I know you are not trying to poison me?" he asked with a grin.   
  
Ororo raised an eyebrow at him, then calmly took a bite of the pie-like confection. Kurt's eyes widened as Ororo leaned forward and captured his lips. She felt his tongue gently run along her lips and she opened her mouth, allowing him to taste sweetness that lingered from the dessert. After almost a minute the kiss ended and Ororo was aware of a sudden change in their positions. Kurt was almost lying atop her, one arm wrapped around her in a very comfortable manner and the other cushioning her head. They were both breathing heavily and Ororo was very much aware that it would take very little movement on her part to set loose a chain of events that could not be stopped. She drew all of her will power together and stopped herself from making that move.   
  
Kurt gently disentangled his tail from her ankle and stood up, pulling her with him. "Ororo, perhaps we should talk about us?" he asked softly.  
  
Ororo gazed up into his golden eyes and nodded. "I think that would be a good idea."  
  
Kurt sat down again against the tree and pulled her to him. She leaned back against his chest and he took a deep breath. Then he began to talk. "From the moment I saw you, Ororo, I have felt a connection to you." "I am not even sure how it is possible to feel so much for someone whom I have known for such a short while." "But I do know that I do not want to mess this up." "I am not certain what your views on intimacy are, but I do know that I would not take a relationship to that level unless I was certain that they are the one."   
  
Ororo smiled at Kurt's careful wording. "You want to wait until marriage to have sex with someone?" Kurt nodded, looking down into her eyes for a sign of censure. "If that's what you want Kurt, then I respect that." "I'm not going to pressure you to sleep with me." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "We can still touch, though, right?" she asked.  
  
"Ja," Kurt said, an amused expression on his face at her obvious concern. "We can touch." He ran his hand gently down the side of her leg. Ororo smiled.  
  
"Good," she said. She pulled his head down and kissed him again. They spent the rest of the evening talking and kissing and touching. By the time they began to pack up they discovered they had been there for almost six hours. Kurt handed her the basket she had brought and picked up his blanket. Ororo abruptly realized she was not ready for him to leave. "Kurt, you know it is almost dinner time, why don't you come back to the school and have dinner with us?" she asked.  
  
"I would not want to impose on the others," Kurt began.  
  
"Kurt, I firmly believe you are incapable of imposition," Ororo said.  
  
"Well, if you are certain no one would mind," Kurt said, wavering.  
  
"I am positive," Ororo told him. "In fact, most of them want to get to know you better."   
  
"Then I would love to go," Kurt said.  
  
"Good," Ororo said with a smile. She held out her hand to him. "Would you like to fly with me?"  
  
Kurt returned her smile, his fangs flashing brightly against his blue skin. "I would be honored." And then they left. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven  
  
By the time they landed at the Institute, Kurt had gotten the hang of flying. Initially it had been difficult for him to relax against the winds that carried them, but after a bit of coaching he became just as comfortable as when he was teleporting. As soon as their feet hit the ground, Ororo led him to the side door. She unlocked it and led him inside.  
  
"Well, today is Logan's turn to cook, so most likely we'll order pizza," Ororo said as they entered the kitchen. She saw Logan peering underneath the table. "Logan, what are you doing?"  
  
"I'm looking for that kid that Jean lost," he growled. He opened up a cabinet under one of the china displays. "You know, the one with the furry tail."  
  
"Tiffany?" Ororo asked. She saw Kurt smile when he recognized the name.  
  
"I guess so," Logan said, checking the other cabinet. "Jean has half the house looking for her." "It's too bad that the kid's immune to all forms of telepathy. It's be easier to find her if Jean could just- you know," he mimed touching his temples and concentrating.  
  
Ororo grinned at the imitation; Logan scowled. "Well, Kurt is joining us for dinner, did you order it already?"   
  
"Yeah, don't worry though, we got plenty for him too," Logan said. "The most of the kids have already eaten, so it's just the staff and a few of the older ones." He opened the pantry, shrugging when he saw it was empty of any children.  
  
"Hey, Bobbie," Logan called into the hallway, "did you find her yet."  
  
"Nope, we're going to check the attic," Bobbie replied, walking off towards the back of the school.  
  
Wolverine growled and opened the top cabinets that Tiffany couldn't even reach, "I'm just being thorough," he explained when Ororo raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"So, Kurt, would you like a drink?" Ororo asked.  
  
"Ja, that would be good," he said. Ororo headed to the refrigerator. "Where are the cups?" he asked her.  
  
"Third cabinet over, behind the counter, top shelf," Ororo instructed, rummaging in the fridge.   
  
Kurt walked around the corner, stopping suddenly and beginning to chuckle. "Ororo," he said urgently, "Come over here, I believe I have found Tiffany."  
  
Ororo and Logan both went around the corner of the staff kitchen's counter. On the floor behind it lay six year old Tiffany, covered in peanut butter and cuddling the half-empty jar to her side like a fat, round doll. Ororo smiled widely, both of the others similarly amused. "Kurt, open that drawer and pass me my camera," Ororo said softly. Kurt obeyed and Ororo insisted on taking several pictures before she would let Logan pick her up and take her back to Jean. "Ok, you can go now," Ororo told him with a smile.   
  
"Oh thank you," Logan said sarcastically. The last thing he saw as he left the kitchen was Ororo trying to pour some kind of punch with Kurt leaning over her shoulder. Logan guessed it would be awhile before either of them got anything to drink actually down their throats. He left quickly before it got any mushier.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Logan marched through the house, carrying a sleeping, peanut butter covered little girl. Several people grinned as he walked by and he sighed. This was not helping him live up to his threatening persona. Finally he opened the door to Jean's room and marched in.   
  
"Logan, you found her!" Jean said happily, trying not to laugh at the spectacle.   
  
Logan's attention however, was fixated on the woman in the corner of the room who was currently refusing to look at him. He forced himself to hand the little girl over to Jean, who left telling them she needed to clean her up. Her words registered on level of his brain that automatically responded with a nod. The rest of him was furiously composing and rejecting possible responses to Rogue's presence. As soon as Jean left the room Rogue stood and made for the door.  
  
"Rogue, wait, I want to talk to you," Logan said, blocking the only exit.  
  
"Unfortunately, *I* do not want to talk to *you*," Rogue said, pushing him aside.   
  
"I am trying to get past this," Logan said, trying not to get angry.  
  
"This is not something you get past or even over, Logan," Rogue said coldly. "I've already tried." She was out the door before her words registered on Wolverine's mind.   
  
Logan walked quickly to the door, his mind spinning through hopeful scenarios. "Something she couldn't get over?" "Is it possible that she has the same kinds of feelings for me that I do for her?" "I always knew she had some sort of crush on me, but she couldn't love me... could she?" Logan's face twisted in frustration at his own thoughts. "There I go again, treating her like a child with childlike feelings." "No wonder she's so angry." "If she's been in love with me the whole time and I just haven't seen it, I'm surprised she's taking it as well as she is." "If it were me, I'd be bashing my face in about now," he paused, considering the logic in that statement before dismissing the errant thought. All his attention was for Rogue.  
  
Logan attempted to smell which direction she had gone, but between all the times Rogue had been down this corridor and the smells of the others inhabitants, it was impossible to determine. Without warning Jean's voice echoed in his head. He instinctively turned in her direction as she stared at him. "She's gone to the Danger Room, if you hurry you can reach her before she locks it down with her inside."  
  
Logan nodded, not even bothering to thank Jean. He took off in the direction of the Danger Room, taking a few short cuts down the banisters. He actually arrived just as the doors were closing and managed to slip inside. He saw Rogue step forward and the holograms activate. She leapt into action, fluidly destroying various robotic defenses and disarming traps. She took down several holographic mutants while Logan sat back and watched. Finally when she had completed the first program he saw her place a small disk into the computer.  
  
The holographic program changed to the picture of a ruin; weapons of varying degrees of technological advancement were scattered about the place while mist curled everywhere. Rogue stepped forward and grabbed a mirrored shield. She turned to face Cyclops and Jean, emerging from one of the broken buildings. It took a moment for Logan to realize that these were more holograms, Rogue was practicing beating the X-Men. "The ultimate test," Wolverine muttered. He reached up and carefully pulled his uniform out of the cabinet in which it was kept. He pulled it on while Rogue battled Jean and Scott, playing their abilities against each other. It took her awhile, but she eventually deflected Scott's beam into Jean after first weakening her with a touch and then knocked the leader of the X-Men unconscious with the blunt end of a nearby sword. They disappeared with a soft whisper and Rogue looked around breathing heavily.   
  
Storm appeared in the air in the background, carrying Iceman. She dropped him lightly to the ground and alighted gracefully. Rogue picked up a tranquilizer gun and flamethrower from where they were stashed. Using a rolling dodge to miss Bobbie's first wave she quickly fired a huge burst of fire at him. He fell back, the heat wounding him more than the tranquilizer bolt that was now in his side. He managed to coat Rogue's left foot in ice and distract her from Storm before the dart's anesthetic overwhelmed him. Storm, however, now had her off balance. Pelting Rogue with snow and an occasionally lightning bolt, she deflected the first shot from the tranq. gun. Ororo climbed higher, realizing Rogue was caught for the moment by the ice. She threw her hands up, raining soft-ball size hail down onto her. Rogue quickly used the flamethrower to melt the ice. Then she set it to long range, short bursts and aimed it at Ororo. The second burst was dodged, but as she came closer the next burst of flame knocked her slightly askew. Rogue quickly aimed, hitting her with the dart from the tranquilizer gun and then diving sideways to miss her kick. She was slightly too slow and Storm's foot connected with the side of her face. Two punches later the tranq. had done it's work and the Ororo-hologram had follows Iceman's example and faded from view.  
  
Rogue turned, scanning the room for something. Logan abruptly realized that she was looking for the Wolverine hologram. He quickly turned around, spotting holo-Logan forming a few feet from him. The second he began to move Logan stabbed him with his claws through the throat. He never had a chance. Then he moved towards Marie, reminding himself that he was now a hologram and could not speak. "This could actually be fun."  
  
He watched as Rogue picked up two thin short swords. She had obviously prepared her weapons of choice in advance and had each one tuned to a specific team member. Logan approached stealthily, hoping to sneak up on her. Just as he was about to strike he found his claws blocked by her sword. "Better luck next time, Logan," Rogue said with a smile. Then she struck out with her sword, causing him to leap back to avoid a hit.   
  
"Has Rogue improved or have I let myself go?" Wolverine thought, ducking one of her kicks. He unleashed a furious assault of knife-filled punches, all successfully blocked by Rogue. He was only able to hit her once, knocking her backward with a kick to the stomach. She pulled back slightly, obviously ignoring the pain and Logan felt a brief stab of guilt. His moment of distraction cost him; Rogue pulled herself upright with lightning speed and smacked him upside the head with the flat of her blade with great force. It hurt like, well, like being hit with a sword. Luckily the pain only lasted about ten seconds before he healed from it completely.   
  
Logan then threw himself into the fight, battling back and forth across the Danger Room. He threw her into the wall and she tripped him, stabbing him through the leg with the sword. He managed not to bleed on the floor because holographic blood would disappear when it touched the ground. He wasn't about to let Marie know that the jig was up. As he healed, he also watched as she did several back flips to give herself more room to attack. She was actually laughing with exertion, obviously enjoying the fight as much as he was. "Although, I'm certain I wouldn't be having half as fun getting stabbed through the thigh with Scott or Jean," he thought ruefully. Though normally he liked to fight, he was glad that it was Rogue who was matching him blow for blow and not one of the others. Somehow it wasn't as galling.  
  
The fight resumed, Rogue having a lot of energy to burn after avoiding the Danger Room for an entire day. She was aware that it was Logan's favorite place to be when not on a mission and had not wanted to meet him there accidentally. The fight continued. Eventually Logan managed to pin Marie against one of the walls, divesting her of one blade and pinning the other to her side. Rogue laughed, even as Wolverine put his blades to her throat.  
  
"Ok, ok, I admit it, you win," she said, smiling. "But I still think if Logan were really here I could kick his butt!" Her smile faded as she looked into what should have been holographic eyes. A slight expression of confusion marred her face and she leaned in to take a closer look. Wolverine couldn't resist meeting her half way in a kiss.  
  
The first thing that surprised Logan was the sheer intensity of it. It was as if every motion of their heads held some sort of deeper meaning, even as the kiss deepened and they grew more frenzied. He didn't think he had ever kissed anyone he was in love with before. There had been a brief crush on Jean, but that was just a natural reaction to the first attractive, smart woman that he had seen in a long time. Rogue was so much more than that. He was shocked to find himself thinking that perhaps he would give up those cigars that Marie disliked so much. Man, he was turning into such a pansy. Not that that mattered because he was kissing Marie, his Marie, and nothing was more important than that.   
  
With a wrench the kiss was broken leaving them both panting heavily. "You... you shouldn't be able to do that," Rogue gasped, still breathing heavily, her eyes slightly glazed from the kiss. "You aren't programmed..." she trailed off, suddenly understanding what was going on.   
  
"Computer," Logan said, holding Marie tightly against the wall, "end Danger Room simulation." The holographic world instantaneously disappeared, leaving the two alone in the dark room. "I came to apologize if you would just stay in the same room with me long enough."  
  
Rogue began to immediately struggle. "I don't want to hear it, let me go you freaking psychosomatic reject!" "You sick, metallic basta-" she was interrupted by Wolverine's mouth once more descending upon her own. He gently traced her bottom lip with his tongue and then began to ravish her mouth. Once he was reasonably certain that she had let loose most of her anger and frustration he gently broke it off. He continued to kiss along her neck and jaw line while murmuring apologetic sentences.   
  
Rogue was too incredibly dazed to worry about accepting such sentiments. She was also marginally distracted by how deliriously happy she suddenly was. "Um, Logan?" she asked when she was sufficiently recovered to attempt to ignore the delicious sensations that Wolverine was creating with his lips.   
  
"Hmmm?" he asked, still kissing her.  
  
Rogue suppressed a moan as Logan moved to a particularly sensitive spot. "Could we talk about how in the last three minutes I have gone from screaming obscenities at you to trying to tear your clothes off?"  
  
Logan reluctantly pulled back. "You know, baby, I've been telling you that you should take something for those mood swings of yours," he said flippantly.   
  
She raised an eyebrow at his dissembling and said sternly. "Really Logan."  
  
"Really?" he asked, trying to be serious in the face of the woman he was madly in love with. "I guess you just finally admitted you were in love with me," he said solemnly. "Over the years I've found that usually the one person that can get you *that* angry *that* quickly is usually the one you love." Rogue looked up at him, and all of the sudden tears were overflowing her eyes and running down her cheeks. Logan's face filled with consternation; He didn't know what to do, except to hold her against him.   
  
"Damn you, Wolverine, why did you have to figure that out?" she asked quietly. "I've had it locked inside for almost four years."  
  
Logan smiled against her hair. "If it helps, I'm in love with you too," he said.  
  
Rogue pulled back, looking into his eyes as if to weigh the truth in his words. He tried to project everything he was feeling into his gaze, and he guessed he had succeeded because she smiled and kissed him again. And everything was all right because he was kissing Marie, his Marie, and nothing was more important than that. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight  
  
"Thank you for dinner, Ororo," Kurt told her as they walked out the back door. "It was," he paused, "interesting."  
  
Ororo looked slightly embarrassed, "They were just showing off for someone new, normally they are better behaved than that." She almost blushed at the powers her friends had wantonly displayed for Kurt's benefit. She had finally put a stop to it when Scott had tried to carve a slice of pizza out with his laser vision. Ororo sighed, she could always count on her friends to be as childish as possible when showing their powers off to a new mutant.  
  
"I noticed Logan was missing," Kurt said, trying to changed the topic away from the slightly uncomfortable subject. "I was half expecting him to be laying some sort of elaborate 'Acme' trap for me."  
  
"I actually think he was in the danger room," Ororo told him, wicked humor dancing in her eyes. "He had some apologizing to do." "Of course that doesn't mean that an anvil won't fall on you the minute you step outside." They both smiled at the image of Logan as Wiley Coyote.  
  
Kurt glanced at the night, feeling somehow incredibly loathe to leave this woman. She had sparked something in him, that was a certainty. He turned back, stepping closer to her. "I will see you again, Ororo?" he asked in a soft voice.  
  
"Just try and keep me away," she said just as quietly. He was so close it was almost driving her insane.   
  
Kurt lifted his hand to her cheek, running one thumb over her lips. "Mein leibchen, my darling," he murmured moving steadily closer to her aching lips, "my love," he whispered, finally gently pressing them to hers. Their tongues met in a dance that seemed almost well-known, but no less precious for it's familiarity. The heady, euphoric feeling of passion wrapped them up in an impenetrable cocoon. Ororo was certain that if the Friends of Humanity sent a task force into the school to apprehend everyone she wouldn't even notice. Her entire world was his lips against hers and his hands seemingly everywhere at once, either unaware of the delicious torment they were causing or unable to stop themselves. The only thing that pulled them apart was a desperate need to continue breathing.  
  
"Kurt," Ororo gasped, panting not only from a lack of air. "We should really stop doing that to each other," she said with a small grin. She noticed that her knees felt strangely weak at the moment.  
  
Kurt took a deep breath, leaning his forehead to touch hers. "I try to stop myself, but my willpower is nonexistent where you are concerned."  
  
She definitely knew the feeling. "We're going to have to be careful if you want to maintain that choir boy image," she told him with a joking smile that was completely at odds with the smoldering desire in her eyes. "You had better go Kurt, before I do something I won't regret."  
  
Kurt was half convinced she really would, and absolutely sure that if she offered herself to him with another of those mind-blowing kisses he would never be able to resist. "Temptation certainly is all it's cracked up to be," Kurt thought as he teleported away from the Institute. He reflexively murmured a catholic prayer as he headed for a cold shower. Tomorrow he would call her again, he promised himself as he crawled into bed. He knew her schedule and she knew his, they were both certain they could manage to meet at least once a day. For the first time in a long time Kurt thanked God for making him a mutant, and then he fell asleep feeling better than he had in quite awhile.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kurt awoke the next morning from a nebulous dream full of shadows and beautiful white-haired women. He sighed and unwound himself from the bright coverlet on his bed. It took him a record ten minutes to shower, dress, shave, and gather his things. He checked his messages and, satisfied that everything was finished, bamfed to work.  
  
"Mr. Wagner, I finished the story and you need to check it over, the others already turned theirs in but mine's a little late; please don't fire me!" the petite intern said all in one breath and throwing a compellingly desperate gaze at him.  
  
Kurt chuckled slightly at her comically desperate tone. "Do not worry, this is your first offence and technically it is still on time," he told her. His accent seemed a bit more pronounced this morning.  
  
"Oh thank you, Mr. Wagner," she said with obvious relief. "I hope you like it, I worked really hard on it."  
  
"Then I'm sure it will be perfect," he replied with a calm smile.  
  
She gave him a radiant grin and almost skipped off to continue her work. Kurt shook his head at the youthful enthusiasm and continued to his office. He had a lot of work to do if he wanted to make up for taking Saturday off. Almost four hours later Kurt had finished reading and organizing the next edition of The Provincial Herald and was more than ready for his break. "Especially since I'll be spending it with Ororo," he thought with a grin. He was about to bamf out when Steven Wallen opened his door.  
  
"Yo, Kurt, come on, let's catch some lunch," he said with an infectious smile.  
  
"Normally I would love to, but I have a date today," he told his friend.  
  
Steve gave him a mock-stunned look, placing a hand to his chest in a melodramatic facsimile of a heart attack. "No way, are you telling me that Mr. Chastity has scored?" he asked, grinning broadly. He performed an oriental bow. "I have taught you well young grasshopper."  
  
Kurt raised an aloof eyebrow. "Ororo is not a 'score', as you so delicately put it," Kurt told him. "She is-" he was cut off by a buzz from his intercom.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, pushing the button.  
  
"Mr. Wagner, there's someone here to see you," Vera Griphen, his assistant, told him.  
  
Kurt's brow rose; it looked like Ororo had sought him out. "I'll be right out." He turned off the intercom and motioned to his friend. "Come, you can meet her," he told Steve, knowing the insanely curious man couldn't help but follow him.  
  
"Hey, there you are, now we can eat," she said with a dazzling smile.   
  
Kurt grinned back, feeling that familiar weakness come over him whenever she looked at him that way. "Ach, heaven forbid I keep you from your meal," he said, only half joking.  
  
"And don't you forget it," she told him, pulling him down to give him a light kiss, the merest brushing of her lips against his. "What delicious temptation, mein sturmliebe," he told her.  
  
"Please tell me that sturmliebe means sister," Steve moaned from behind them, his face twisted in an exaggeratedly hopeful expression.  
  
"Sorry, mein freund, no such luck," Kurt told him. He put an arm around Ororo's waist, delighted at how she pressed herself subtly closer to him. "Ororo, this is my friend and coworker, Steve Wallen."  
  
"A painful pleasure," he said with a regretful sigh. He reached forward and shook her hand. "How in the world did you manage to get to her first, Kurt?" he asked dejectedly.  
  
Ororo smiled. "It's nice to meet you too, Steven," she replied in an amused tone.  
  
"And now we need to go, we only have an hour for lunch," Kurt reminded her.  
  
"Of course, it was a pleasure meeting you," Ororo said. Kurt felt her loop an arm around his waist. "Where are we going?" she asked, her voice filled with giddy anticipation. He smiled again, amazed that he was producing such a reaction from this insanely beautiful woman.   
  
"You will find out," he told her. Then he wrapped her up in his arms, sighing as she fit perfectly against him, and bamphed them away.  
  
"Where is this?" she asked, looking curiously up the row of doors that they were standing in front of.  
  
"This is my apartment building," Kurt said. "My room is one floor up, directly above us."  
  
"And we are eating here?" she asked.  
  
"Ja, one of my dearest friends has invited me and 'whoever it was I spent all weekend with' to lunch today." "Because it appears that you are the guilty party, I am forced to drag you along." He gave her a grin as he said the word 'forced'. She smiled back and he held off the urge to kiss her again as the door opened.  
  
"Kurt!" came the almost exclamation. "I am surprised you actually showed up this time," the elderly woman told him. Her smile took the bite out of the words. She ushered them inside as Kurt replied to her barb.  
  
"That was one time, Mina, will you never allow me to forget it?" he asked. His tone was amusedly tolerant and she seemed to take exception to it.  
  
"Well that's what you get for standing up an old woman," she said. "I may not remember what I had for breakfast today, but I never forget the opportunity to deliver a good guilt trip." She gave him another wide smile, her tired brown eyes suddenly lighting. "And speaking of an opportunity, where are your manners, boy?" She smirked at his puzzled look. Mina nodded to Ororo, who had followed them into the living room from the hallway. "Aren't you going to introduce your friend?"  
  
Ororo arched an eyebrow as Kurt blushed a surprisingly bright fuchsia. He stammered slightly, that and his accent made his first words unintelligible. He paused, blushed again, and then started over. "Mina, this is Ororo Munroe, a dear friend and hopefully more; Ororo, Elmina Brooster, a combination surrogate mother, grandmother, and sister." At Mina's chuckle he grimaced and added in a not so soft whisper, "She keeps me humble."  
  
Ororo gave him an amused look and shook hands with his friend. She was immediately asked to call her Mina and encouraged the older woman to address her as Ororo. Kurt had thought from the beginning that the two would get on famously, which was why he had angled for the invitation. He had no idea why he felt the desire to integrate Ororo into his inner circle after knowing her for such a short time, but he couldn't deny that it felt good to have such implicit trust in someone.  
  
The hour passed quickly, and in a flurry of conversation. Mina proceeded to skip from topic to topic with reckless abandon. She loved company, Kurt being her special favorite. She had served up sandwiches and iced tea, and for dessert a slice of delectable cheesecake. Kurt happily stayed until they had only five minutes. He gave Ororo a quick but intense kiss that they both enjoyed. He proceeded to bamf to work with her promise of meeting him at Myrons for dinner, while she left from the small balcony with a feeling of contentment and Mina's cheesecake recipe.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"It's just that I'm not sure that Kurt is up to handling the kinds of things that sometimes crop up in my life," Ororo confessed, taking a sip of her lemonade. She was already dressed for her date, but she didn't need to leave for at least half an hour. Jean and Marie gave sympathetic nods.   
  
"Well, I don't really have to worry about Logan not being able to handle himself in combat," Marie replied. Her not exactly new relationship with Logan had gone through the rumor mill like lightning. It was then promptly digested without a ripple of anything more serious than an exasperated "Finally!" (Coming from Jean and Ororo.)  
  
"I used to worry about Scott's fighting skills, but now I've gone against him myself and I know he is at least marginally capable." Jean gave a small shrug. "You know, with Kurt having such an obvious mutation, it's very likely that he long ago learned how to defend himself."  
  
Ororo sighed. "It's just that he seems so gentle and so defenseless." She smiled sadly, "Not that I don't love that about him, I do, but I worry that he will be in danger just by association."  
  
"Challenge him to a duel," Marie suggested, grinning in a feral way that was more than vaguely reminiscent of Logan. She caught their raised eyebrows. "What, I'm sleeping with Wolverine, a few things are bound to rub off."  
  
"Speaking of that, how's Kurt with the physical part of the relationship?" Jean asked.  
  
Ororo blushed but answered the question. "He says he doesn't believe in having sex until you are sure that you want to marry that person," Ororo said. "Which is commendable, but very frustrating." "I'm respecting his wishes," she paused, a small smile on her face, "but I am planning on learning how far he'll let me take him before he draws the line."  
  
"So you're going to half seduce him?" Rogue asked, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.  
  
Jean gave her a lazy look, "Sort of like what you and Logan did in the back room of the Blackbird just before our last mission started." Marie actually blushed, thinking of last night's information gathering expedition.   
  
"Hey," she protested, getting the blush under control. "That's for good luck!"  
  
"What did you guys find out anyway?" Ororo asked, curious.  
  
"We've got some documentation, I can tell that we are getting closer to the center of this ring," Jean told her.  
  
"Jean also skimmed some of the minds there," Rogue said, ignoring Jeans frown.  
  
"I'll psychically cross reference the two mental encounters tonight during meditation and I may be able to come up with something," Jean told her.  
  
"Good, when I come back we'll go round up some bad guys and I can tell you all about my date," Ororo said. "Oh, and Rogue could you do me a favor?"  
  
"Not if it involves checking any papers," Marie said firmly.  
  
"No, I already looked over all the tests, I just need you to take them all to my classrooms." She gave Marie a grimace, "I meant to do it, but it slipped my mind when I thought I had lost my shoes."  
  
Marie rolled her eyes but nodded nonetheless. "I guess that won't cut down too much on my...free time." She smiled at the thought.  
  
Jean gave her an amused look. "All you guys do is have sex."  
  
"Our love expresses itself in a physical way," Rogue said pompously. She gave her a superior look completely at odds with the gleam in her eyes. Her lips suddenly twisted into a naughty grin. "I'll see you guys later, I just felt the need to express myself."   
  
"Don't forget the papers!" Ororo called after her retreating figure. The vague wave was not reassuring, but she shrugged it off.  
  
"I'll remind her," Jean said. "And now you'd better go."  
  
"I've still got ten minutes," Ororo protested.   
  
"You'll want the time to fix your hair after the flight," Jean told her, just before pushing her out of the house and going in search of Cyclops. Suddenly she also felt like expressing something. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine  
  
"So how did you find out about this place?" Ororo asked after dinner as they gathered their coats from the back room at Myron's.  
  
"I helped Myron out of a rather sticky situation once and he invited me to dinner out of gratitude." "He neglected to tell me he owned the place, so you can imagine my surprise when I found that most of the clientele was mutant."  
  
Ororo grinned at him as he opened the door. "And you've been a regular ever since?" she asked shrewdly.  
  
"I only come for the pasta," he replied airily. "It has nothing to do with my being completely incompetent in the cooking department." He took her arm and they began to stroll down the alleyway towards his bike. He picked up a helmet and tugged it gently onto her head, pausing when it was in place to kiss her upturned mouth.  
  
"Well, well, well, isn't that sweet," a gravelly voice said from the shadows. "A blue mutie, and his little mutie girlfriend." The man stepped out into the streetlight, his face twisted with disgust. "We can't have that, can we boys?" "Don't want you two to start making more little muties any time soon."  
  
Ororo narrowed her eyes and then turned to Kurt, who looked as though he were struggling to control himself . "It never fails, everyone I encounter assumes we are sleeping together." "Why can't people understand that there is more to our relationship?"  
  
"You are worried about your reputation, Ororo?" Kurt asked, momentarily forgetting about the men who were attempting to intimidate them. "You think your honor is in danger of being questioned?"  
  
"Never with you, love," Ororo said absently, removing the helmet in preparation for the fight.  
  
Kurt's eyes widened and he smiled. "Ororo?" he said quietly, waiting until she had met his eyes. "You said love."  
  
Ororo grinned shyly. "Yeah, I did." Then she leaned over and gave him a swift but thorough kiss. Kurt really brought out the child in her.  
  
Their attackers were by this time looking a bit put out. They had been counter-attacked before, sometimes people had run from them, but they had never been ignored. The lead man looked irritated, but unsure how to respond. The others began to shift their feet, cough nervously, and glance about as though waiting for the moment to pass. Finally Ororo and Kurt remembered that they were being threatened.  
  
"Oh yes," Kurt replied, looking a bit embarrassed. "Er, sorry, we got caught up."  
  
"Oh, not a problem," one of the guys in the back said quickly, only to be shushed by a scorching glare from the leader.  
  
"If you're finished with this touching moment," the man said scathingly, "we'd like to kill you now."  
  
Kurt turned, an annoyed look on his face and caught the man's first swing. "You should be more polite ladies, Mr.-" He left the sentence hanging.  
  
"I don't bother polishing my language for whores," the man snarled, looking satisfied as he saw Kurt's expression change from mild irritation to sudden anger.  
  
"Now that, mein freund, you really shouldn't have said."  
  
Kurt's fist clenched, but this time he did not regain control. He disappeared in a wisp of black smoke and the next thing Ororo knew they were in a pitched battle. Storm pulled at the air currents, creating friction and carefully manipulating the electricity stored in the clouds. Soon she was channeling lightning into each person she struck, while Kurt preferred to appear quickly behind them and hit them in some especially painful place. They toyed with them for at least five minutes before finally knocking them all unconscious.   
  
"That was invigorating," Kurt said, stepping out of the shadows that made him nearly invisible. Ororo didn't know why, but all of the sudden she found him irresistibly attractive. She stepped up to him as he approached her and kissed him again. He propped her up against the bike in order to find a more advantageous position from which to kiss her. The only thing that prevented an extended make-out session was an annoying beep that began issuing from Ororo's phone. Kurt pulled back, chuckling a bit at her moan of distress when he removed his lips from hers. "Ororo, love, answer your phone, it may be an emergency."  
  
"Oh, it had better be," Ororo replied, her voice promising horrible things to a person who called her frivolously. She answered the phone hurriedly. "What?" she asked, her tone more than a little testy.   
  
"Hey 'Ro, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Logan said in an amused tone.  
  
"If this isn't an emergency, then I promise you I'll have you collared and then eviscerated."   
  
"Easy, 'Ro, Jean said you need to get back here," Logan replied. "She found a connection in those guy's minds and she knows when another trade is scheduled to take place."  
  
Ororo sighed and Kurt gave her a melodramatic sad face. "I'll be there in a little while then, I'll see you then."  
  
"I'll give you time to get dressed," Logan said, quickly hanging up before she could reply.  
  
Ororo turned to her date. "I have to go," she said.  
  
"I know," he told her. He leaned in to give her another deep, but more swift, kiss. "You're leaving me."  
  
Again when he pulled back she made a sound of discontent. "If it's any consolation, it's very important."  
  
"X-Men business?" he asked shrewdly.  
  
Ororo was completely unsurprised that he had figured out who she and her friends were. They were pretty famous in the mutant community and a man who works in a newspaper would have special reason to take note of them. "Yes," Storm said. "We're working on a very important case."  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow then, for lunch?" he made the last part a question.   
  
"Mmm," Ororo said, "I'll be there." With that she turned and ascended into the heavens, or at least, the heavens in the direction of the Xavier Institute. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
Ororo sang to herself as she worked in the greenhouse. She had a little time to waste before Kurt showed up for dinner, so she put it too good use. Working with the plants always gave her a sense of peace, like she was giving back to nature in exchange for it's continued assistance. There could be little doubt as to what she was thinking about as she worked.  
  
It seemed impossible that she had met Kurt only two weeks ago; he was such a huge part of her life. She couldn't imagine life without him, and truthfully that scared her a bit. She had never felt this kind of instant bond with anyone before him. Normally she'd be second guessing herself by now, but Kurt had already passed the rigorous 'Logan Test'. When someone was cleared by a man with those kinds of instincts, you just didn't question his sincerity.   
  
With some difficulty Ororo had laid aside her paranoia and accepted that Kurt was not an evil robotic killer, a pathological liar, or an agent for an anti-human support group. She refused to go any further than 'the Logan Test' unless Kurt gave her some reason to distrust him. Everyone had a few skeletons in their closet, but she knew Kurt would not hurt her. She would not go snooping where it wasn't her business. Trust was important in a relationship.  
  
Things had been kind of tense in the Institute recently. There had only been one break lately; Jean had announced it at yesterday's meeting. She had gleaned a deadline from the lackey, the date on which an entire shipload of young, stolen mutants would be shipped off to God-knows-where. They had until the 30th of this month to find and loose them. Any later and it would be like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack: without knowing what a needle looked like. They also had discovered, through countless hours of searching and subtle investigations, that there was to be another, smaller delivery of mutants coming in from the outlaying suburbs of New York. One of their more shady contacts was still looking into the situation and Logan had high hopes that the man would deliver. All of the X-Men were dying to nail the person behind this wholesale market of mutant children.  
  
Ororo finished watering the last of the plants and stretched. She put away the watering can and returned to her room to change for her date. Kurt was making her dinner at his apartment and then they were going to a movie. She suspected he had proposed the movie because he didn't want her to think that he expected her to stay with him. He worried way too much about propriety in her opinion, but she wouldn't change him for the world. She slipped into her skirt, a conservative black floor-length with two very un-conservative slits up the sides, and her white button-up top. She put on her black pumps and silver jewelry, then proceeded to hair and make-up. She was driving, so she didn't have to be careful for fragile items that could be lost when flying. Ororo checked her reflection then grabbed her purse and left.   
  
"I hope I'm not late, Ororo said as she alighted onto his balcony. She stepped through the double doors just in time to see Kurt pulling a dish out of the oven with two strangely shaped mitten pot holders. He smiled when he saw her and stepped over for a kiss.   
  
"Nein, you are right on time." He stepped back and motioned her to a seat at the table.   
  
Ororo sat down and watched him finish preparing dinner. In truth, she was sure she could watch him forever, maybe even for the rest of her life. "Woah, where did *that* thought come from?" she asked herself. It was way too early in the relationship to start thinking like that. Sure, he was wonderful, and they had an instant connection, and they had so much in common, and there was that great chemistry, and they were definitely in love.... what had been her point again? She pushed the inner conversation to the side of her mind, vowing to think on it later. She asked a question to cover her thoughtful silence.  
  
"So, where did you get the pot holders," she questioned lightly. "I'm guessing not at Wal-Mart."  
  
"Mina made them for me, she said she could hear my curses from her apartment every time I burnt myself." He chuckled, "I don't cook that often, so I must have either really bad luck or a total lack of culinary skill."   
  
"I'll give the benefit of the doubt and say the former," Ororo said, her smile widening. Wow, he really looked great tonight. It was safe to say that she was hungry for more than food at the moment. Again she stopped her train of thought. "He wants to wait, he wants to wait," she chanted silently, her eyes closed. "Goddess, Ororo, can't you control your hormones for five seconds?" She opened her eyes to see Kurt looking at her.  
  
"Ororo?" Kurt asked, giving her a concerned look. "Are you well?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, just trying not to think about something." She gave him a wicked little smile and saw understanding light in his eyes. If she had not been looking straight into his face she would have missed the expression in his eyes slide from understanding to a firm, deciding determination.   
  
Still, Ororo was caught almost completely unaware when Kurt strode briskly towards her and pulled her into his powerful arms. She was much too surprised to do anything except kiss him back when he descended upon her lips. In fact, a few moments after he had begun, she had no desire whatsoever to stop. Kurt gently placed her onto the dining table, pulling her skirt up far enough that it allowed him to step between her legs. Her arms, at first twined around his neck, drifted down and began lazily stroking his back. He kissed her face, her jaw, her neck, and then back to her lips. He murmured unintelligible German phrases with every touch; Ororo felt so happy in that moment that she was almost overcome.  
  
Kurt's hands fell to her thighs, pulling her even tighter against him. It was quite obvious to both of them that there would be no pulling back this time. The forgotten dinner cooled atop the oven as Kurt's surprisingly dexterous fingers slid her out of her shirt faster than she had thought possible. Soon she was completely bare from the waist up and Kurt's hands were busy exploring every inch of her exposed skin. All the while their tongues twined together in a sinuous dance that barely left room for breathing. He managed to somehow push her onto her back on the table without breaking the kiss, Ororo wasn't in any condition to take note of his incredible flexibility. She was just grateful for it. It was this agility that allowed him to pin her arms down whilst his two other limbs assuaged her body with pleasure.  
  
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Ororo had imagined that Kurt's tail would likely play a part in his lovemaking. He used the appendage just like another hand, and one would hardly expect someone to have sex one-handed. Still, Ororo wasn't quite prepared for the amount of her that he could be touching all at once. Everywhere that he stroked her she was on fire, and that tail could kindle quite a bit of her. It was the most amazing thing she had ever experienced in her life. Never had she felt this completely aware of the passions that were flowing through her. The almost blinding ecstasy she was experiencing usually only occurred when she was actually in the act of making love. If it felt this good now, she had no doubt that when they finally consummated it, it would truly blow her mind. It was at this time, during which Ororo was attempting to free her arms in order to turn some of this exquisite torture back upon her lover, that Ororo's emergency-only cell phone began to ring.  
  
Kurt pulled back sharply, giving her phone a glare that promised imminent destruction. The look of frustration on his face might have been comical if Ororo hadn't been completely incapable of humor at that point. Kurt lay half on top of her, his gasping breaths matching hers in irregularity. His bare chest, she didn't know who had ripped the shirt open, was pressed firmly against her breasts. Meanwhile the phone continued to ring incessantly.  
  
"Ororo, mein liebe, I love you," Kurt told her breathlessly. "But I am going to kill your friends."  
  
"Not if I beat you to it," Ororo countered, grabbing the offending phone before the temptation to chuck it out the window became too strong. She flipped it open and pressed it to her ear. "What!?!" she asked shortly.  
  
"I'm sorry, 'Ro," Jean replied quickly, "but you have to come back to the Institute." "We have a new development in the case."   
  
Ororo racked her brain, trying to come up with a reason that she could level her increasing, frustrated anger on her telepathic friend. Finally she sighed and gave up. Jean was only doing her job, doing what was right. Sometimes honor really sucked. "I'll be there soon."  
  
"Thank you, we'll be in the briefing room," Jean replied. The call disconnected and Ororo turned to face her date.  
  
"You have to go again?" Kurt asked, clearly disappointed and trying not to show it.  
  
"I don't want to," Ororo replied, pulling her shirt on. "But this is really important, a matter of life and death."  
  
"I understand," Kurt said, and Ororo knew he did. He gazed pensively up at her through eyelashes that were much too thick and seductive than they had any right to be. "Perhaps it was best that we were interrupted before we did anything... else."  
  
Ororo frowned, stepping closer to him and gently cupping his face in her hands. "I love you," she told him in no uncertain terms, "and no part of us being away from each other is good." She smiled when she saw his expression lighten. Then she said good-bye with a long, lingering kiss that lasted far too long for convention but was much too short for either of them to be satisfied. Even that was interrupted, this time by Kurt's phone beginning to ring.  
  
"It's never easy," Kurt muttered, his eyes still closed from the kiss. Ororo smiled as lightly as she could before turning and flying out of the window. Kurt looked after her even as he picked up the phone and conducted his conversation. "Never." 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven  
  
Ororo landed in her room and stalked to the briefing room. Every line about her conveyed a potential for violence and the students instinctively took themselves out of her way. When she entered the door and took her seat she opened the discussion with a comment that expressed her mood perfectly.  
  
"What in the goddess' name is wrong, and it had better be life threatening," she told them.  
  
Jean gave her a concerned look. Normally this would be an appropriate response to the mood Storm was in, but something told the weather witch that there was more to it than that. Jean gave her a weak smile as Scott brought the meeting to order.  
  
"First of all, I think that those of you who weren't on tonight's mission can already guess that it was a success." "Unfortunately there were no mutants at the scene." "It is possible they were tipped off, or the man who supplied this information could have got the details wrong." "Now, we're really here because Jean came across something in the mind scans from tonight when she was meditating," Scott told them. "We waited until you arrived, Storm, before we informed the others about exactly what is going on." "I think you deserve to be among the first told."  
  
Ororo was beginning to get a very bad feeling from all of this. It was as if the entire team was hesitating to explain a crucial part of the investigation to her and the reason they were so tentative could hardly be good. "What is it, what is going on?"  
  
Jean gave Scott a look that clearly instructed him to let her do the talking. He obeyed with a surprising lack of reluctance. Storm put that out of her mind as Jean's expression turned even more grave. "Ororo, I was cross-referencing the thoughts that I had gleaned from the kidnapper's minds when I ran across a peculiar conversation that was overheard by the man." Jean paused delicately, sensing that not only the weather witch, but also the other members of the X-Men were listening closely to her report. "It seems he overheard the leader of his group discussing a man with the main boss." "The man was complaining about having to deal with 'that blue freak' and the need to take care of him before he got above himself." Jean rushed on, as if she were afraid Ororo would try to speak before she could lay out all the facts. "He then remembers his superior suggesting they cut off his tail and then promising his superior that there was no way some mutant journalist would give them trouble." Again Jean paused, she had arrived at the part that she really didn't want to say. "Ororo, the man that I scanned seems to think that this blue, tailed mutant may be involved in the slave trade and is making waves in order to get a bigger cut."  
  
It was at this point that Storm pushed herself roughly away from the table and paced across the room, apparently trying to get a handle on this new information. Finally she stopped and swept the assembled mutants with her gaze. "He didn't do it."  
  
The silence that greeted this decisive comment was broken suddenly by Wolverine's claws sweeping out. "The evidence says he did." "There ain't that many blue-tailed mutant journalists in New York."  
  
"I know Kurt, and I know that he would never have anything to do with something like this," Ororo insisted. "All we have is a criminal's sketchy memory of half of a telephone conversation that he happened to be eavesdropping on." "Besides, Kurt's an editor," she muttered to herself.  
  
"You're letting your emotions cloud this issue, Storm," Wolverine growled. "You can't think objectively."  
  
"And you're jumping to conclusions!" "I have spent a lot of time with Kurt, Logan," Storm replied angrily, "and I think my instincts are nearly as good as your own." She continued on, glaring at the hapless mutant. "Even if you don't trust me not to allow my emotions to overrule my intuition, you should at least trust your own." "During any of the many times that you came into contact with Kurt, did he ever come across as insincere or dangerous?"  
  
"He's secretive," Wolverine said.  
  
"Secretive!!" Ororo exclaimed. "He practically told you his life story."  
  
"He left some things out, I could tell."  
  
"So what if he did?" Ororo asked, glaring at the feral mutant. "The man has a right to privacy."  
  
"That doesn't change the facts," Wolverine growled. "Jean saw the whole thing in that guy's head."  
  
"The conversation could be interpreted in many different ways," Ororo replied.  
  
Wolverine was about to retort when Scott smoothly stepped in. "We can't resolve this here," he told them. "We'll be doing a background search on him, Ororo," Scott told her in no uncertain terms. "Even if we think he didn't do it, we owe it to those children to check out every lead."  
  
"Fine, I understand that you have to check up on him, but I don't want any of you to start threatening him." To her credit, she didn't cast any accusing looks at any of her teammates. "Though I expect an apology from Logan after we find out who is really behind this."  
  
Wolverine growled at no one in particular, prompting Marie to speak up. "Hey, don't forget to tell them about the change in the delivery date."  
  
"I was getting to that, thanks Marie," Scott said in an easy, if sarcastic, manner. "The date of the final transfer has been moved up, possibly because of our interference." "We were lucky to find out about it at all, very few people know about the date change."  
  
Jean stepped in, smoothly picking up the train of thought. "The exchange will be made tomorrow around eleven, naturally we'll be there at ten." "They may be expecting us; we don't know what defenses they may have against mutants." Jean gave them all a stern look. "A mandatory training exercise will be held tomorrow morning at seven." She glance around, meeting each pair of eyes in turn to see if anyone wanted to speak. "All right, if that is everything, this meeting is adjourned."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Logan stalked to his room, ignoring the quick steps behind him as Marie hurried to catch up. He flung open his door and sank onto the bed. Sighing, Logan ran his hands through his hair and held back a grin as Marie hovered in the doorway. She was evidently trying to determine if he needed company or space; she must have decided the former because she had followed his lead and was settling on the bed next to him.  
  
"Hey," she murmured, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head against his back.  
  
"Hey, darlin'," he replied. She waited patiently for him to speak. "Me and 'Ro never fight," he said suddenly.  
  
"Well, sugar, Ororo's in love, and love make a woman act in peculiar ways."  
  
"So you agree with me that Kurt could be involved?" Logan asked anxiously.  
  
Marie grinned. "Of course not, sugar, I think you're suffering from a paranoid delusion," she said, her tone betraying her amusement. Logan growled, knowing that from her position she wouldn't be able to see the smile on his face. Thus he was able to completely surprise her when he turned and began to tickle her mercilessly.  
  
Logan stared at the beautiful, flushed face lying just beneath him. "Do you give, darlin?"   
  
"Not on your life!" she replied, attempting to squirm out from under him.  
  
"You can't win," he told her, grinning at her determined wiggling.  
  
"I don't have to win," she told him smugly, "I just have to outlast you." "You have to go start the search on Kurt before too long, otherwise we won't get the information in time."  
  
Logan blinked. "I hate it when you use your brains against me," he complained.  
  
"What's this, the mighty Wolverine laid low before the power of lil' ol' me?" She batted her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated manner.   
  
Logan grinned before leaning down to kiss her. Perhaps they had a little time before he had to start the search.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ororo nervously picked up the phone and dialed Kurt's number. It rang three times before it was answered, the voice on the other end blurred with sleepiness. "Kurt?" Ororo asked.  
  
"Ororo?" Kurt asked, his voice suddenly becoming much less fogged.  
  
"Hey, Kurt, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our date for tonight," she told him, hoping her statement didn't sound as rehearsed to him as it did to her. "Jean needs me to stay here and watch some of the younger children."  
  
"Ach, actually this is fortunate bad luck," Kurt said. "I just found out about a meeting with a source that I apparently arranged and forgot about." "I'll probably be gone most of the night."  
  
"Really?" Ororo said, then winced at the suspicion in it. She was trying so hard not to doubt him. Kurt apparently didn't pick up on her tone.  
  
"Ja," he said. "It doesn't even start until eleven."  
  
Ororo felt her heart sink. "Well," she heard herself say, "I guess it was lucky." "I'll see you soon then."  
  
"I love you," he added.  
  
"I love you too," Ororo said, attempting to sound natural. "Good-bye." 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve  
  
My long awaited, much anticipated next chapter. Also, look for my Epilogue! I'll finish it soon, I'm experiencing a bit of writer's block.  
  
They reached the warehouse in plenty of time, but it took longer to secure the area than they had expected. There were at least thirty guards, though with Jean's help it was simplicity itself to identify them. The hard part was taking them all down silently. By the time the task was completed they were ten minutes until delivery was scheduled. It took two more precious minutes to get everyone into the support structure above the delivery site. About twenty feet below them was a large cage containing at least sixty mutant children, none of them over the age of 13. Ororo's eyes narrowed as she saw one of the man rough grab a small flame-colored boy and drag him forward. With difficulty she controlled her urge to flay him with a lightning bolt and waited for Scott's signal.   
  
"We are ready to move out," Scott whispered into the com links. "On my mark."  
  
"Ororo, look!" Jean thought telepathically. Ororo looked down from the recesses of the building and saw Kurt Wagner emerge from the shadows of the lower floor. The X-Men froze in surprise, Ororo amongst them.  
  
"Michael Waverly," Kurt said, his voice echoing in the empty corners of the room. The man holding the little boy's arm paused and then shoved him back into the cage. As he fell to the floor and curled up amongst his fellows, the Michael turned to face the blue mutant.  
  
"Padre!" "Good to see you again," he said in an almost pleasant voice. Ororo stiffened at the casual, knowing tone in the man's voice. "And I see you have changed your clothes as well." "Those robes always were annoying."  
  
Kurt fairly hissed at Michael, "Well, lucky for you, in a few minutes you won't have to worry about much of anything."  
  
"Please, Kurt, spare me your empty threats." "You weren't very effective last time and I doubt that time has improved you." He gave him an evil, mocking grin. "You aren't just a freak, Padre, you're a pathetic freak." Michael motioned to his men, more of the back-alley thugs that had attacked the X-Men in the other warehouse. The miscreants slowly advanced on the fierce-looking mutant, watchfulness heavy on their features.  
  
"We have to help him," Ororo said quietly but urgently into the com unit. She was desperately worried for her gentle suitor's safety.  
  
"Not until we see how involved he is," Scott hissed back. Ororo saw Wolverine cautiously nod agreement.   
  
"Oh for goodness sake, he's a priest, how much can he possibly hurt you?" Michael asked, annoyed with his hirelings. Ororo's mind fastened on the words "he's a priest," replaying them several times before it sunk in. Angrily she pushed it aside to concentrate on what was important. Kurt was in danger, she would sort the rest out later.  
  
Suddenly it was if a switch had been thrown. Kurt snapped his wrists and two concealed sword-like knives fell down almost six inches past his fingertips. He quickly leapt and teleported behind one of the men. Knocking him out with one quick kick, he blocked another man's swing with his steel-reinforced forearm. Grinning chillingly as the thug howled in pain, Kurt vanished again. He decimated seven men before Michael screamed at them to forget about quiet and just use the guns. By the time most of them had pulled their weapons they were already unconscious. The one who did manage to aim before Kurt finished the others was hit on the back of the head with the side of the mutant's left blade.  
  
Michael pulled a gun, the silencer already on and fired off three rapid shots at Kurt. He missed badly as the German teleported behind him and then to the right. Finally, tired of toying with the man, Kurt leapt out of midair in front of the child-smuggler and knocked the gun from his hand. He delivered a vicious backhand, watching with satisfaction as Michael hit the ground hard. Reaching down, Kurt retracted his left sword and grabbed the man's throat. He pulled Michael up slightly, holding his right blade inches from his chest.   
  
When Scott saw Kurt put his sword to Waverly's chest he motioned the X-Men to action. Wolverine and Rogue took the flank, targeted on getting the kids out. Iceman and Scott covered the exits in case more unwelcome people arrived. Jean and Ororo advanced on the two men who were locked in dispute. Jean relayed the orders. "Don't let them see you, stay behind the crates and be careful!" They stopped when they were three feet away, waiting for the right moment to step in.  
  
Michael opened his eyes, obviously trying to clear them from the stupor that Kurt's blow had induced. He looked fearful, but not properly cowed. "What now, Nightcrawler?" "Are you going to kill me?" He sneered up at his captor, blood running from his nose and mouth. "Is my death really worth your immortal soul?"  
  
Kurt's face was twisted in loathing as he glared down at the man, a dreadful understanding in his eyes. He wanted to kill. Kurt's expression must have conveyed his feelings perfectly because Michael Waverly's nerve finally broke. His face registered supreme terror as Kurt's mouth twisted into a warped version of an amused look. "I guess I will see you in hell, Michael," he told the man. His arm moved back, ready to strike.  
  
"NO!" Ororo said, stepping out of shadows. She gave Kurt a desperate look. "Please, Kurt, don't kill him."  
  
"Ororo," Kurt growled, his eyes wild but unblinking. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Listen to me, Kurt," she pleaded. "We can take him and make sure he never harms another child again."  
  
"I could insure that with a flick of my wrist," he replied in an agitated voice.  
  
"Kurt, you do not want to do this," Ororo told him.  
  
"Yes, Ororo, I do," Kurt said, his voice unable to convey the multitude of emotions he was feeling. His shoulders sagged slightly but his voice never wavered. "But it is not what is right." Ororo almost sobbed with relief. Kurt pushed Michael away from him and Wolverine took none to gentle custody of the disgusting man. Nightcrawler abruptly bamfed away. Ororo's eyes frantically scanned the room, looking for him, suddenly Jean's voice was in her mind.  
  
"He's outside, walking the opposite way from the jet," Jean told her. "We'll take care of this, you go to him."  
  
Ororo shot her a grateful look and took off for the exit. She opened the door and ran out into the rain, searching for Kurt's familiar figure in the gloom. "Kurt!" she called, spotting him. She saw him freeze when he heard her cry. She ran to him, standing under the overhang of a nearby building to escape the falling water. "Kurt, please talk to me."   
  
"Ororo," he croaked, completely overcome. "I do not know what to say."  
  
"Just tell me what is going on," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "I just want to understand." She needed to hear what Kurt was hiding, needed to know if he was the man she thought he was. She didn't think she could stand it if he couldn't be with her, she needed him too much. "Just tell me the truth."  
  
Kurt's face displayed infinite sadness. A faraway look entered his eyes as he sunk into the painful memories. Finally he began to speak. "A lifetime ago, I was a priest in the Catholic church." "I wanted so badly to make a difference and to serve God by giving of myself." A self-mocking expression crossed his face. "I can't even bear to think of how naive and trusting I was then." "I was so sure that if I had faith that everything would come out right." He smiled grimly, "God works in mysterious ways." Ororo shuddered at his tone, stepping closer to the tortured mutant. He continued his narrative as if he were in a trance. His voice was flat, dead. "I served in a poor but well-populated church in New York City, working for the good of all and helping whenever and wherever I could." "Then one day a new priest joined us in our industry." "His name was Father Waverly."  
  
Kurt paused, perhaps looking for a reaction in Ororo's face. She kept her features still, not wanting to give him any reason to stop his account. "Go on," she said softly.  
  
"When I first met him, he did not shy away from any part of my mutation." "We were even friends of a sort; he was the only one who called me Padre." "He seemed to be an accepting, open, friendly person with little to hide." "Gott, how wrong I was." There was another pause, but this time Kurt started talking again on his own. "I was scheduled to hear an important confession that day, but at the last moment the young woman called to say that she would not be able to make it." "I decided I would pass the time in prayer in the small antechamber near the back of the Church." "I entered the room without knocking, expecting it to be empty." Kurt's voice shuddered. "I saw Waverly in there with an eight year old boy." "The boy, he was crying silently, and the expression on his face was so betrayed." Kurt took another deep breath. "Waverly had just finished-," Kurt's voice broke off and tears were streaming openly down his face. "I should have known, Ororo, I should have suspected!" "And then he tried to tell me that nothing was wrong, that son of a-," his curse was cut off when he slammed his fist into the brick wall. Kurt blinked down at the blood pouring off his hand. "I was so angry," he whispered. "I picked up a letter opener from the desk, it was more than adequate, I would have been able to kill him with it." He looked down shamefully, full of self hatred, "I hesitated and he pulled out a gun." "For the first time in my life, I wasn't fast enough." "He shot me in the stomach and then he left."   
  
Ororo also began to cry. Tears of frustrated empathy flowed down her angelic features and mingled with the rain on the ground. With a supreme act of willpower she did not move forward. She ached to put her arms around him and tell him everything was all right, but she knew Kurt deserved more than empty promises. Things were not all right. "It wasn't your fault," Ororo whispered. Despite her soft tone, her words were full of unshakeable firmness.  
  
Kurt shook his head. "How many children did he hurt because of my inattention?" he asked. "And how many more for my inaction?" "I couldn't give those children back their innocence, but I thought that perhaps his blood might give them some justice." "In any case, I could not stay in the priesthood." "How could I lead people to God when he was so far from my own heart?" "I told the police and my brother's what had happened; Waverly had long since left New York and no trace of him could be found." "I then informed the others of my decision." "I was adamant, not listening to any of their arguments." "When I left the priesthood I had little money, I lived for many months in an abandoned Church, praying and making these tattoos." "They insured that I wouldn't forget or hide from my duty to those children." "Eventually I came out of my seclusion, determined to continue my life in some meaningful way until an opportunity to hunt down and kill Michael Waverly arose." "I got a job as an editor and filled my days volunteering, working, and setting up a network of information." "I cautiously searched for him." "I would occasionally spending time watching people in the night clubs, hoping one day I might serendipitously run into him." "A few days before I met you I received my first really promising tip." "I investigated but hit a large information barrier, I had gone to that club to unwind from the frustration of the day."   
  
Kurt took a deep breath, wiping away his tears. Finally he reached out an took Ororo's hands in his. Looking deeply into her eyes he spoke again before she could say anything. "I didn't think I would ever discover anything like you after I left the Church." "I had thought I would find Waverly and then live out the rest of my life trying to make amends for killing another of God's children." "The love I feel for you, Ororo, is all-encompassing." "It's something I never expected, would never have dared to dream of." "It's because I love you so much, that I am telling you that you deserve more than I am." Kurt's voice broke slightly. "I can give you nothing but myself, and I fear that I am broken beyond repair."  
  
Ororo stepped forward, her face showing nothing but love and understanding. "You are all I want Kurt." Ororo whispered. "And I am not letting you go." She turned and pressed her lips desperately against his, needing the reassurance of his touch. From the moment she had seen him approach Michael Waverly he had seemed half gone from her, and now she needed to know that he was back. He couldn't leave her again, she couldn't bear it.  
  
"Marry me, Ororo," Kurt whispered into her hair. "Let me love you as your husband." "I can't live without you anymore."   
  
Ororo could barely register the sensations she was feeling. Her mind was still dazed with the heart-stopping, love filled kiss and now her senses were further overloaded by his disconcerting words. She was trapped in a whirlwind of emotional upheaval that almost drove her to distraction; but if there was one thing Storm was good at, it was dealing with whirlwinds. She pushed away everything as she contemplated Kurt's question. Her eyes clouded into white and the rain was lit by a sudden crash of lightning. "Yes, Kurt," she replied softly. "I'll marry you." 


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
My much anticipated Epilogue. I like it, I think you will too. Sorry for anyone who wanted a real love scene, but I gotta keep it PG-13. ~Your Worshipfulness  
  
Ororo looked up from her papers to smile at her fiancé. He seemed unusually jubilant today, a pleasant change from the somber expression he had worn for quite awhile after that night. "What are you so happy about?" she asked, giving him a mock-suspicious look.  
  
"Oh, no reason," he said, winking at her. He leaned over the desk to kiss her quickly. Before he could pull away, she grabbed his collar and held him against her for another, much more thorough kiss. When she finally let him go he looked a little dazed.   
  
"Now, tell me what is going on, Kurt," Ororo commanded. She put her papers into a drawer and walked around to stand in front of him. She perched on top of her desk and pulled him close to her, delighting in his reaction to their proximity.  
  
Kurt gave her a wicked little grin. "You want to spoil the surprise, mein liebe?"   
  
"Very much so," she purred into his ear. She could tell he caught the innuendo because he blushed bright red. Ororo laughed, tossing her hair back and pulling him in for another kiss. This one didn't end anywhere near as quickly as the others. In fact, she didn't allow him to truly get away until the door opened to admit Logan and Rogue. Kurt broke the kiss and stepped back quickly.   
  
"Oh, hey ya'all, we didn't know this room was occupied," Rogue said, almost but not quite blushing. Her accent seemed a bit thicker than usual.  
  
"Yeah, sorry if we *interrupted* anything," Logan said. His eyes twinkled.  
  
Ororo glared at him, more for the intrusion than the insinuation. "What were you two going to do in an empty classroom anyway?" she asked. Then her expression turned disturbed. "Oh my God, you were *not*, please tell me you weren't going to-" she broke off, almost scared of the answer. Logan looked sheepish. Rogue blushed again. "Oh goddess, in a *classroom*?" "In *my* classroom!" Ororo hopped off the desk and looked at his askance. "I will never think of this place in the same way again." Kurt looked as though he agreed, but was too polite to say so.  
  
"Come, Ororo, your surprise is downstairs," Kurt urged, pulling her to her feet.  
  
Ororo laughed and obediently followed him down to the foyer. On the sideboard was a small package with a UPS stamp upon it. Kurt grabbed it, tearing it open and tossing the paper behind him. Grinning, he handed her a small black box.   
  
The weather witch's eyes widened when she saw the ring box. Ororo's hands shook as she gently opened the box and gave her fiance a luminous smile. "Kurt, it's beautiful," she whispered.  
  
"You like it?" he asked, sounding almost shy.  
  
"I love it, it's exquisite," she replied, barely able to tear her gaze away from the delicate silver band that symbolized her love for the man beside her. Carefully she slipped the engagement ring out of it's box and slid it onto her finger. She held it up to Kurt, a small smile on her face. "However we are going to need to get it sized!"  
  
"Was!" Kurt exclaimed, glancing closely at the obviously over-large ring. "I ordered this in your size," he told her.  
  
"Don't worry, we can go get it fixed at the jewelers, come on," she replied. She stood up and started for the stairs.  
  
"You are going now?" he asked.  
  
"We are going," she corrected him. "We still need to commission our wedding bands."  
  
"I do not think this is such a good idea, Liebling," Kurt said, a worried expression on his face.  
  
Ororo turned to him, meeting his eyes. "Trust me," she said simply. Kurt sighed. Being married to Ororo Munroe was going to be a lifelong adventure.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I do not think this was such a good idea, Ororo," Kurt stated nervously. He looked around and pulled his hat down for perhaps the hundredth time.  
  
"It will be fine," she said soothingly. "Relax." They were standing outside the jewelers while Ororo prepped Kurt for his excursion into society.  
  
"Why can't we just do this over the internet?" Kurt asked.  
  
"Because we are not going to let people dictate where we can go by their prejudices," Ororo said firmly.  
  
"I'm German, liebe, we're used to dictators," Kurt joked.  
  
Ororo gave him an amused look. "We'll just pop in and you give me your opinion on a few of them. It will only take a second." She gave him a pleading look.  
  
"Ach, not the look!" Kurt said, unable to tear his eyes away from her face. His resistance began to waver, then, when she assumed an expression of anxious hopefulness, he felt it give way completely. "Fine, lets get this over with."  
  
Ororo smiled brightly, gripping his hand tightly and giving him an encouraging look. "It's really going to be ok."  
  
"Ja, ja, so you've told me," Kurt said as they entered the dimly lit store. Though he knew the lighting was meant to induce feelings of romance, Kurt felt security as the almost-shadows helped blur his features. He smiled more confidently.  
  
"Hello, can I help you?" a portly man asked. He looked very energized, most likely at the idea of making a big sale.  
  
"Yes, I need a ring sized and then we'd like to look at your wedding bands," Ororo said happily.  
  
"Well, you've come to the right place," the man said. "We're having a special today on wedding rings. Just leave your ring here; we'll fix it and send it to you."  
  
"Wonderful," Kurt muttered a bit ruefully. He didn't really care about the price, but he needed something to grumble about. If nothing else, it took his mind of the feeling of being very exposed. There was an uncomfortable itch between his shoulder blades. Kurt watched as an enthusiastic Ororo was dragged to a chair and shown pictures of the various rings that were available. Kurt found a dark corner of the store where a convenient potted plant all but blocked him from view of the other customers.  
  
Thirty minutes later Kurt was jerked out of a drowsing half stupor by Ororo's sharp gasp. Every muscle in his body tensed before he realized that she was simply excited over something she had been shown by the extremely helpful salesman. As his heartbeat slowed and the salesperson was called away, he strode silently over to the exuberant weather goddess. "Found what you are looking for, mein leibe?" Kurt purred into her ear, carefully keeping the brow of his hat tilted to obscure his face.  
  
"Yes," Ororo said, tilting her head to allow Kurt's roving lips more room to work their magic. "They're perfect."  
  
Kurt looked over her shoulder, staring down at the pictures of two wedding bands made of white gold. There were whimsical, delicate carvings etched along the outside while the inside was left smooth for personalized inscriptions. They were beautiful, undoubtedly ideal for the occasion. There was just one problem.  
  
"They are lovely, Ororo," Kurt said sincerely, "but I think we are going to have a bit of trouble with the fit. My hands are not exactly the norm."  
  
"I intend to take care of that right now," she said firmly, standing up and striding over to the man behind the counter with her catalog. "Excuse me?" she said, attracting the man's attention as Kurt stood nervously behind her. "We are going to need Kurt's ring specially designed to accommodate fiancé's mutation."  
  
"Mutation?" the man said, dropping the catalog that he had just taken and glanced at Kurt in surprise.  
  
Kurt stepped forward, placing his strangely shaped hands on Ororo's waist in full view of the salesman. He grinned widely, showing gleaming teeth and fangs. "Yes, I hope that won't be a problem for you."  
  
"No, there won't be any difficulty, I just need to take your measurements." Kurt was completely unprepared for the man's conspiratorial smile. "My wife's cousin is a mutant," the man said.  
  
Ororo gave him a brilliant smile that would make any man's knees weak and the man blushed to the roots of his hair. He quickly wrote down their specifications and gave them the date that they would come in. They paid in advance and gave the address to have the rings forwarded to Xavier's. As they were leaving Kurt was filled with hope for the future, both for himself and for all of mutant kind. 


End file.
